Regrets and Reconciliations - Original Ending
by Junebugsm
Summary: Stef Foster is looking for the little girl she gave up for adoption twelve years ago. Lena Adams wants to adopt the young girl that has no one. What happens when both women come face to face in a battle for the same child?
1. Chapter 1

**Stef Foster is looking for the little girl she gave up for adoption twelve years ago. Lena Adams wants to adopt the young girl that has no one. What happens when both women come face to face in a battle for the same child?**

(The original ending to the story **Regrets and Reconciliations** where instead of Max it's Stef who answers Lena's call after Callie's transplant **(Chapter 56)**. How will Stef, Lena and Callie deal with being involved in each others lives?)

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

As I'd mentioned in my _Author's Note_ at the end of **Regrets and Reconciliations** , the end to that story was never my original intention. It was suggested to me by **meyouthem123** and since I loved it so much and it seemed to fit so well with the story I decided to use it. But now here is the way I had initially intended to go so for those of you who were keen on seeing if and how Stef and Lena worked out their problems then here goes nothing. Hope you all enjoy it and thanks for reading.

I do suggest you read the Author's Note at the end of **Regrets and Reconciliations (Chapter 66)** first.

Love Junebug.

(PS: The beginning, in italics (paragraphs 1 and 2), is identical to **Regrets and Reconciliations**. Once the italics ends, that's where things change in this story).

* * *

 _Previously on…_ _ **Regrets and Reconciliations:**_

Stefanie Marie Foster was a good kid, popular and respected by everyone. She came from a very influential and very high powered family. At fifteen she gave in to peer pressure and attended a party where got pregnant and had a baby girl that she was forced to give away by her very dominating father.

Callie was initially supposed to be adopted by the Jacob family right at infancy but when they learned that the baby had a congenital heart condition that would require several surgeries, an eventual transplant and possibly even mortality, they decided not to adopt her and Callie was then put into the foster system where she suffered for the next ten years.

Lena Adams was the daughter of very humble but loving parents and as a result of that she was able to open her heart and home to the ten year old girl that had absolutely no one. Two years pass and finally, after a long struggle-filled wait, a date was set for Callie's adoption, only to be halted by Stef who had been looking for Callie for the last two years.

Over the course of the next year Stef, with Lena's support, tried her hardest to make amends to Callie for the life she had led but Callie had remained bitter and angry towards Stef. Her behavior changed and she began doing things that were completely out of character for her including risking her life in order to be more popular and more like other kids her age. Lena, unfortunately, began blaming Stef for Callie's recent behavior and eventually forbid Stef to ever see Callie again which lead to the beginning of a custody battle that scared Callie to the point of seriously affecting her health. When Callie was hospitalized as a result of the battle Stef backed off and left them alone until Lena once again approached her to help with Callie's heart transplant and medical needs. The deal was that Stef would help get Callie the best of everything medicine could offer without being involved in the girl's life in order to avoid the risk of further complications and in exchange Lena would keep Stef informed of Callie's progress and treatment so that the blond wasn't left in the dark.

Stress is high and gripping as Callie finally goes into surgery and no one is able to truly understand how Lena feels as she waits for four grueling hours while her daughter's heart is removed and replaced with another one.

* * *

 _Excitedly, but with a hint of nervousness, Lena followed the doctor back to where Callie was and tears of joy made their way down Lena's face when she was finally able to actually see for herself that Callie was alive and doing well considering the major surgery she'd just had. By the time they had made it back there Callie had already fallen asleep again and she looked so small and pale in the hospital bed but still, it was enough for Lena to just see the steady rise and fall of her chest and hear the rhythmic beeping of the machines that monitored her heart._

 _A wave of relief flooded Lena and her whole body began to ache as it let go of the tension it had been holding and she needed a moment to herself - she needed some space and fresh air and she needed to clear her head. She rushed outside the hospital doors and just took a deep, calming breath, trying to settle her rolling stomach. Eventually she began to cry tears of relief and joy that her daughter was finally on the road to recovery, she was adopted and everything was falling into place. Suddenly there was only one thing that Lena wanted to do and that was call Stef and share the news with her for she knew that despite everyone's love and concern for Callie, no one would understand Lena's feelings more than Stef._

 _Quickly dialing a number she now knew by heart_ Lena nervously held her breath as she counted the rings before finally hearing the voice that instantly made her smile.

"Is it over? Is she okay?" Stef asked the moment that she answered the call, a clear indicator that she'd been waiting for this call for hours, ever since she received a text from Lena's phone informing her that Callie was being taken into surgery for a new heart.

"She's great." Lena said with a relieved smile. "She's groggy but she's okay. The surgery was a success and the doctors are hoping for a full recovery."

"Oh thank god." Stef said, so relieved that she was beginning to get a headache from the tension she'd been under for hours. "What did the doctors say? What's next?"

Lena spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes explaining everything that the doctor had said to Stef and the two discussed Lena's plans for Callie's after care and Stef promised Lena that she'd set up an account for Lena and put a standard amount into it each month for Callie's medical expenses and if she needed anything more then she just needed to let Stef know and more would be transferred.

"I appreciate that." Lena said, still quite a bit uncomfortable taking money from Stef like this but her first priority was to get the best available for her daughter and so she had to put her pride aside. "I promise you that it will only be used for Callie's medical expenses. I won't misuse your generosity." She tried to assure.

"Use it for _whatever_ you need." Stef emphasized. "There's no condition here. Callie may need something that isn't necessarily medical and that's just as important. I'm not asking for any receipts here Lena. Once that money is in your account it belongs to you."

"I know you're not but that doesn't mean it should be spent on anything but what it was intended for. If Callie didn't absolutely need this I would never have come to you like that but her life literally depended on it."

"I know. I understand that." Stef assured. "And I know that growing up rich screams spoilt brat but the fact is that money isn't an issue for me so let me do whatever I can. If you need a little extra for house expenses or to extend your leave or whatever, just use it. I can handle the expenses. It isn't _just_ Callie that needs to be taken care of. You need a break as well, if nothing else then so that you can be there for her."

But Lena didn't entirely agree. Yes, she needed to look after herself but it wasn't right to use Stef's money to by her own meals and run her own house while she sat at home and earned nothing. That money was for Callie and would be used for her alone and anything left over, should there be any, would be put towards her education for Lena knew that Stef would never take it back.

"Thank you but I'll manage." Lena said though her voice softened considerably. "But thank you for doing this for us. I know you love her and you're worried about her and I will tell you how she's doing."

"Thank you." Stef said, it was her turn to be grateful for being kept in the dark was beyond torturous. Once again an awkwardness settled between them as both were well aware that Stef was still not invited to visit Callie. "I will need to come down there and set up a joint account for us and it will require both our signatures. Do you think you'll be able to come to the bank with me for an hour or two?" She questioned, hoping that Lena could spend at least that much time with her.

"Of course." Lena smiled, despite the fact that Stef couldn't see her through the phone. "Just let me know when and I'll have my mom sit with Callie while I'm gone." She was so tempted to suggest that Stef come down to the hospital as well, just for a minute, but the image of a terrified, breathless, Callie still haunted her and so she just let it go.

"Okay." Stef said. "I'll fly down tomorrow and set it up and let you know."

After that the two once again discussed Callie's treatment, prognosis and aftercare. While waiting for the transplant to happen Stef had spent a lot of time researching treatments and care facilities and learned a lot and surprisingly Lena was open to Stef's input. The truth was that Lena was strapped for time what with taking care of Callie, trying to keep up with the regular chores and errands and attending school as often as possible to avoid unnecessary days off while Stef had had nothing but time as she waited and worried from a distance. Stef mentioned to Lena some of the places and people she'd researched and Lena told her how the doctors themselves and mentioned some of those same names and together they narrowed down the private nurse that Lena would hire to take care of all Callie's needs right through her recovery in isolation, the hospital and at home. What neither of them realized was just how good they actually worked together when they put everything else aside and focused solely on doing what was best for the child that they both loved dearly.


	2. Chapter 2

As Stef drove herself from the airport back to the hotel that she'd spent most of the previous year in, she couldn't define what she felt. She hadn't been here in over eight months and in some ways it felt like an eternity but in others it felt like it was just yesterday. How she wished she was coming here to spend time with Callie like she did in the very beginning - she'd take the girl's attitude and tricks over all of this any day. But as she drove past the hospital on her way from the airport to her hotel she knew she couldn't risk making the stop, both for Callie's sake as well as her own - she couldn't put Callie in any more danger and she didn't want the lose the small link that she still had to Callie and Lena. So instead Stef drove straight to her hotel room and was given her old Suite and as she entered the room behind the bellboy who was unloading her bags, she felt like she was finally back home.

With nothing better to do, Stef headed straight down to the bank where she started work on the joint account. She already had her own personal account in the same bank back in San Francisco and although she didn't live or work in San Diego, her name and reputation was well known even down here and so everyone was more than helpful and made the process as smooth as possible. Stef filled up all the forms she needed to and submitted all the documentation required and did her share of the signing and now the only thing left was a few details from Lena that Stef didn't already know, her own personal documentation and her signatures and the bank assured Stef that they would be available for her whenever Lena found a moment to get away from the hospital. With everything in place and ready for Lena, Stef gave her a call and the two arranged to meet at the bank during lunch the following day.

* * *

Lena looked longingly at Callie and blew her a kiss through the glass that stood between them. Lena was still allowed very restricted time with Callie so as to avoid the risk of infection and so that was limited to the time Callie was actually awake. She was still somewhat sedated in order to give her body a chance to heal and so the time that Lena got to spend with her was minimal and as a result Lena was reluctant to leave Callie even for a short while in order to finish the bank work.

But as Lena got closer and closer to the bank she couldn't deny the excitement she felt at seen Stef again for she hadn't seen her in months and the last time that the two had been in the same room together she'd asked Stef for money and then banished her from their lives all in a span of fifteen minutes. Lena knew that hadn't been her finest conduct but at the time all she could think about was Callie and nothing and no one was going to stand in the way of Callie's wellbeing. But now that the transplant was over and proved to be successful and more importantly, now that Lena had seen that Stef was staying true to her word, her defenses lowered and she allowed herself to give in to the feelings she had.

With Stef having already finished most of the work, Lena didn't need more than half an hour to finish her share. The account was set up, Stef instantly transferred a fair amount of money into it to get it running and for immediate expenses and everything was good to go. Stef once again reminded Lena that the money was hers to use for whatever she deemed fit and that Stef wasn't looking for any sort of account on what Lena spent the money on but just like before, Lena also promised not to misuse the money and use it solely for Callie's medical needs. She already felt guilty for way that she'd treated Stef, especially after asking such a huge favor of her.

But when it was time to leave, Stef just didn't want to let Lena go. She wanted to talk to her - ask her about Callie, find out about the surgery, the aftercare and whatever else there was in more detail, she wanted to ask about Lena too for it wasn't just Callie that she'd missed. Now, as she watched Lena hand in the final paper with the last signature she wished she hadn't gotten most of the work done by herself for she would take any excuse to keep Lena longer. But it wasn't long before the younger woman was getting up and shaking hands with the bank manager, thanking him for all his time and help and Stef knew that there was no way to extend this meeting for even if she did ask Lena to join her for a late lunch or suggest a walk, she knew that Lena was more than eager to get back to her daughter. What she didn't know was that Lena's eagerness to leave wasn't just about Callie but about how guilty she felt with regards to Stef.

* * *

"How did it go?" Dana asked her daughter once Lena returned to the hospital, sooner than Dana expected her to. "Is it set up?" She questioned when she noticed the odd look on her daughter's face.

"Yes." Lena answered, though it was clear that there was something else on her mind and by the way that Lena wasn't looking at Callie Dana knew that it wasn't about the girl.

"What's wrong?" Dana asked observing the frown lines on her daughter's forehead. Both Callie and Steward were asleep and Dana realized this was a great opportunity to get Lena to open up and talk - both about all her stress over Callie and their lives in general plus whatever else seemed to be bothering her. She'd watched her daughter struggle more and more over the last three years - first with settling down with Callie and trying to cope with her medical needs and then with trying to adopt her and Stef's interference and finally with the transplant and the obvious financial strain that came along with it. But now things were settling down and looking up and Dana felt it was time to get her daughter to focus on herself if just for a few minutes.

Lena knew she'd been hiding her behavior towards and feelings for Stef from everyone including herself but through it all Stef had done nothing but support her and give in to her every request with no questions asked. Yes, the woman had tried to fight for custody but that had only been because of Lena's threat and so she couldn't really fault her for that. But now all that was weighing heavily on her and she was more than ready to just get it out in the open - at least part of it if not every single detail.

Dana already knew that Lena had approached Stef for money but she had a slightly different view of the situation from where she stood. She knew instantly that the older woman would be more than willing to help; in fact, she knew that the older woman would _want_ to help which was why she didn't think it was a bad for Lena to approach Stef. But what she didn't know was what Lena had asked of her after she'd agreed to help financially.

"I asked her to stay away from us." Lena finally blurted out. Her guilt over her treatment of Stef compounded with Stef's support of her and her own true feelings for the woman weighing too heavily on her shoulders. "She agreed to everything I asked and I still wouldn't allow her to visit Callie."

Dana listened as Lena talked for she knew Lena needed to get it all out more than she needed a lecture or advice or even sympathy. She did understand Lena's reasoning for she had seen Callie's panic attack herself when the child found the custody papers but she also understood Stef's point of view for not once, from the moment that Dana had met Stef, did she believe that Stef had anything but Callie's best interest at heart.

"I know this whole thing was my fault." Lena continued, seeming to speak to no one in particular but just trying to make sense of it all. "Callie had become so different and I know it wasn't just because Stef showed up but it was so much easier to blame her than to blame myself."

At this Dana raised her eyebrow wondering why Lena felt the need to blame herself for any of it but once again she didn't interrupt for she knew that Lena would continue on her own.

"I couldn't give Callie what she truly needed - I couldn't make the adoption happen, I couldn't make her feel better when she was sick. I couldn't make it all right. And I wasn't there when she needed me. I was at a stupid party while my baby was drowning and she asked for Stef and Stef was there." By now Lena was crying and Dana was no longer sitting in a chair across from her but right beside her, holding her tight and giving her the comfort that she needed. "I shouldn't have asked her to stay away. I could have explained it to Callie and she would have been fine, especially after the adoption. Stef did that for us and I still didn't make the effort to invite her even though I…" She paused, stumbling over her words. "…Callie would have been happy to see her." She finally said, her own feelings still kept private.

But Dana didn't need Lena to say it out loud for it was more than clear to her that her daughter had fallen for the bolder woman and she knew that a mother would do anything for her child - Stef had done it for her baby, Lena had done it for her daughter and now Dana had to do it too and so once Lena was finally calm again and once Callie was awake she excused herself and Stewart and went to talk to the one person who could help heal all their hearts.


	3. Chapter 3

Stef was lying in her bed staring up at the ceiling and just contemplating the course her life was taking for two years ago she never imagined she would be in this position. Even when she'd first began looking for Callie, almost four years ago, she had a completely different picture in mind. And yet, here she was, craving for a family that wasn't even hers; trying desperately to provide for a child that all but hated her and even all her money couldn't guarantee the girl what she truly needed and falling for a woman that had outright asked her to leave them all alone. The only thing that Stef truly had going for her was her work and she'd been pushing that aside as well, what with everything else that had been going on.

So Stef was completely lost in thought when there was a knock on her door and since she wasn't expecting anyone she wondered who it could be but when she finally reached the door and opened it she was more than surprised to find Lena's parents on the other side. With a mixture of worry, concern and nervousness Stef stepped aside and invited the older couple in. She had no idea what they were here to say and she wasn't even sure she wanted to find out because she couldn't imagine it could be anything good but still she let them in because for all intents and purposes - they were her family.

"How is Callie?" Stef asked first, mostly because she was always worried and wondering about the girl but also because it was the only common, uncontroversial topic.

"She's doing well." Dana said with a smile, surprising the younger woman greatly.

Yes, Stef had liked Dana and Stewart the one time she'd met them at Callie's twelfth birthday but now, over a year later, a lot had happened since then and Stef didn't expect a single kind word from them.

"She's strong and brave." Dana continued proudly. "She's a fighter and she's going to get through this."

"If anyone can do it then she can." Stewart added, sounding just as confident and proud of the girl. He gestured towards the couch in the living area of the suite and both he and Dana sat down while Stef walked to the small kitchen area to pour them all something to drink. Awkward meetings like this were always made just a tad easier when there was something to do with your hands.

"She really is strong." Stef agreed, offering them each a glass of lemon soda and placing a plate of cookies on the coffee table as she took a seat on one of the single chairs opposite them. "I wish I was half as bold and strong at her age as she is." She added, thinking that if she'd just been strong enough to stand up to her father then maybe none of this would have happened.

"You are." Dana replied quickly, shocking Stef completely. "You have done very well for yourself and that is definitely something to be proud of."

Stef wasn't sure what to say. She never expected Dana to say what she did in the first place and besides that, she wasn't sure how to respond. "I'm sorry for the mess I made." She finally said, feeling the need to apologize to them personally as well. "I never intended for a custody battle."

Dana and Stewart shared a look, knowing that is was finally time to say what they had truly come here to say for Stef had given them the perfect opening.

"We do understand your side of things." Dana began. "From the moment that Callie was conceived, you have done the best you could for her so don't ever apologize or feel ashamed about that. No matter what the whole world says, that girl is a part of you and as long as you love her and have her best interest at heart there is no one that can take that from you."

Once again Stef was too shocked and too emotional to respond. She couldn't even look Dana in the eye and so instead she chose to look at the embroidery on the cushion on the far end of the couch but she was listening intently to everything the woman had to say for she needed to hear those words more than anything. She wasn't sure what Dana had come to say or where all this was leading to but just this much was enough to make Stef forgive herself slightly for Callie's history.

"Family isn't black and white." Dana went on gently, itching to go to Stef and hold her like she seemed to need. "Just because you give birth to someone doesn't make you a mother but just because you give your child away doesn't mean you aren't one either. Motherhood is not necessarily a fact but more of a feeling. Lena wasn't Callie's mother for two years but she was still her mother in every way that counted. To make things clearer and easier people follow what the law says but no one can dictate what's in your heart."

This is the point where Stef actually looked up at Dana with tears in her eyes for there had never been a single person, Lena included, who seemed to truly understand what Stef was feeling but here was a woman who was spelling it out for her right down to the 'T'. The gratefulness and relief in Stef's eyes was unmistakeable and Dana knew that she'd done the right thing by coming here for neither of their families would be complete until the two women learned to work together, if not form a life together.

"Relationships are hard." Stewart added, speaking up for the first time for he was just as passionate about this as his wife. "No matter what form they take - friendships, parents and kids, marriages; none of them are easy, they all need work. Giving up is the only way to fail." He said, something that Lena often said herself and had clearly learned it from her father. "Mistakes happen but it's what we do with those mistakes; what we learn from them, that matters."

Hearing those words from Stewart made Stef glance away slightly for she wondered if the man was talking from his own experiences. She remembered his infidelity from Max's investigation and she knew the couple had hit a rough patch for a while but still, here they were, ten years later still together and still going strong.

But Dana noticed the look for in the beginning each and every time anyone spoke of mistakes and regrets she would look at her husband in the same way, to see just now personally he took the statement.

"Who told you?" Dana questioned, needing to know how much was out in the open about their private life.

Stef looked guiltily towards Dana but she knew she had to be honest. She owed it to them and they had a right to know. "An investigation." Stef replied nervously for she had no right to pry into their business. "My partner Max found out about it when he was helping me build a case to win custody."

Both Dana and Stewart were clearly uncomfortable for they had hoped never to dig up that can of worms but the fact was that it was out there and so they needed to know the hard parts.

"Does Lena know?" Dana asked, her lips pressed right in a straight line while Steward looked down, ashamed of his own mistakes from a decade ago. "Have you told her?"

"No." Stef replied quickly. "It was not my place to say anything. Believe me I was never going to allow them to use that. Your…" She stumbled here for the word that came to mind was 'affairs' but it was definitely not the appropriate word to use considering the circumstances. "…That does not define Lena's parenting capabilities." She stated.

Dana nodded gratefully for she respected Stef's view. The one thing she always wanted was to shield Lena from that part of their lives and so far they had done a good job of it and thankfully Stef was willing to stay out of it.

Stewart, still looking away and still ashamed of the topic, finally spoke up. "It was the biggest mistake of my life." He said, still starting as seemingly nothing. "I was in a very tough place. Lena wanted an education that I could barely afford to give her. I began working longer hours and I was always tired." He began to explain, feeling the need to come clean. He finally glanced to his wife for there were parts of this story that even she didn't know. "Dana was helping with the savings but I was so embarrassed about that." He admitted for the first time. "I began staying away for I couldn't face them, knowing that I wasn't able to provide for them. Instead I found companionship in the woman who sold us our eggs and bread. "It was the most foolish two months of my life." He finished, regretting every moment of it.

Neither Dana nor Stef said anything for there was no point in adding to the man's misery. He was clearly remorseful about it and both he and Dana had moved on so dwelling on it wasn't going to do anything.

"We never wanted Lena to find out." Dana said. "We don't want her thinking that her wish to go to a private college was what led to this."

"She won't find out from me, I can promise you that." Stef assured, looking Dana straight in the eye.

Dana nodded appreciatively and decided that it was time to wrap things up. "Lena doesn't hate you." She said, a slight distance in her voice, that resulted from the course the conversation had taken. "She's cautious, yes, but not angry." She paused and added a certain fierceness to her tone. "Don't you ever try to take my granddaughter away from us again." She said firmly, making Stef lean backwards ever so slightly. But then her voice softened once again. "But don't stay away either. It's not good for any of you. Lena is just scared. The truth is that when Callie found out about the custody battle she was a wreck and that was terrifying to watch. I understand what Lena was feeling but I also know that she was wrong. Give Callie a while to recover but don't just let Lena dismiss you either. You deserve more than that." Dana stated clearly.

Once again Stef's eyes filled with tears as she voiced her greatest fears. "I can't bare to lose her." She whispered painfully. "I just got to know her, what if her body rejects this heart? What if she doesn't make it?"

Dana finally did get up and walked over to the younger woman and wrapped her up in her arms, shushing her gently as she cried. "You can't think like that." She cooed as she rocked them both. "You have to stay positive and it will be easier once you get to see her again." She said confidently, letting Stef know that she would support her whenever she decided it was once again time to push Lena a little bit.


	4. Chapter 4

It was easy for Dana and Stewart to urge Stef to push her way back into Lena and Callie's lives but things weren't that simple for the fear of Callie's health as well as Lena's rejection made Stef too nervous to even take a small step. She stayed in San Diego for exactly one week and met Lena only once in that much time - when they met at the bank to set the account up. Of course they has spoken on the phone several times since Stef was always looking for updates on Callie but throughout those ten to fifteen minute conversations all Lena could talk about was how much progress Callie had already made and how things were finally looking up for the girl and that alone was enough for Stef to avoid rocking the boat.

" _They say Callie's lucky for she hadn't shown any sign of rejection or stress from the transplant." Lena had said with an obvious smile. "They say it's her age and her general health not including the heart defect that's made her the ideal candidate. That and the fact that she's finally adopted which has made her stress levels drop significantly."_

After hearing something like that how could Stef possibly make such a significant decision and risk ruining everything all over again. And so instead she called Lena one night to tell her that she was going back to San Francisco the following day and to promise to keep her up to date on Callie's progress and then finally, with an ache in her heart Stef boarded a flight back to a city she no longer considered home.

* * *

Ten days after the surgery Callie was finally able to move into the Cardiac Unit where she was no longer in isolation. From now on Lena or Dana would be allowed to stay in the room with Callie throughout the day although both of them were given masks to wear to avoid infections. Callie was also made to walk through the ICU twice a day as part of her exercises and the cardiologist came in once a day to make her do several breathing and movement exercise that he monitored on a machine. But all in all Callie was recovering and that meant introducing her to the private nurse that would be responsible for her transition back home and her aftercare as well. Callie's doctor suggested bringing the nurse in earlier to familiarize her with Callie's case and care so that when it was time for her to go home everything went smoothly.

As the days and weeks passed Callie continued to show progress and that alone brought smile's to everyone's faces. A month after moving to the Cardiac Wing Callie was shifted to a regular room where she was no considered a normal patient. She was now allowed to have her mother and grandparents with her all day and no one needed masks anymore. She was going for therapy where they made her run on a treadmill and do breathing and blowing exercises regularly. She was also supposed to begin doing things the way she normally would - bathing in a bathroom by herself, eating a regular, but healthy, diet and moving about like she normally would. Her incision was almost completely healed and the pain was now only a dull ache, mostly when pressure was applied to it. It wasn't long before Callie was cleared to go home.

But with that came it's own set of complications. Yes everyone was thrilled to bring Callie home but it also meant that Dana and Stewart would soon be going home as well for they had lives and businesses to run and a home to take care of and Lena had to get back to work for she'd already taken more leave than she could really afford. It was only Stef's contribution that allowed Lena the luxury of an extra week or two to stay home with her daughter.

* * *

"They were right." Max said as he watched Stef pour them each a glass of whisky. Everyday he would listen to Stef as she shared whatever news she had on Callie - how each day she had to push just a little further with her exercises, eat just a little bit more that she wanted, gained a tint of more color in her face and any other tiny detail that she'd learned from Lena. Of course Max was thrilled to hear that Callie was recovering well and he was happy for both Stef and Lena that their biggest worry seemed to be over but he could also see that it wasn't enough for Stef. Yes, she was happy for Lena and Callie and she was relieved that she was well but she was still sad because she was still missing something important.

"Look," Max continued when it became clear that Stef wasn't convinced. "You love this girl _and_ you love her mother. You need them and maybe they don't know it yet but they need you too and it's clear as day. Even Lena's parents agree on that."

"They weren't talking about becoming a family Max." Stef practically snapped. It was so easy for him to stay just exactly what she wanted to hear; it was so great to hear exactly that but the reality was completely different. The one person that truly mattered didn't see it the same way.

"So what?" Max challenged. "Even if they weren't, so what? Why not at least give it a chance and see where it goes?" He got up and walked up to Stef, pulling the glass of whisky out of her hands and forced her to look at him. "Callie's okay. She's getting better and if you and Lena handle this better this time and don't keep secrets from Callie then I think that letting you back in would be a good thing for everyone."

Stef stared back at Max wishing she had his confidence and determination but her fear of losing the tiny connection she still had to them was more terrifying than ever. What he said did make sense for the last time she had sprung the custody battle on them and Callie had found it without even a warning but this time maybe they could take it slow.

"Look, I pushed you to do something last time and it wasn't the right thing and for that I'm sorry." Max began and stopped Stef before she could even begin to deny it. "I'm not going to push you but I am going to remind you that asking; that trying; can't hurt. You deserve more than this Stef and if they just stop for a second and think about this they will realize that maybe they do too."


	5. Chapter 5

Stef felt a knot in her stomach as she heard the phone ring and waited for Lena to answer. She'd thought long and hard about what Dana and Stewart and Max had told her and adding her own desires to the mix, she knew she had to at least try for more or else she'd never be content. But the fear of Lena's or Callie's rejection was too great and so instead she decided for some sort of a middle ground.

"Hi Stef." Lena answered after the fourth ring, forcing Stef to put her thoughts into words. "How are you?"

"Hi Lena." Stef said nervously. "I'm well, thank you. How are you?" She asked. They always began this way, getting each of them out of the way before they began talking about Callie - the main reason for almost every call.

"I'm good." Lena replied and then waited for the most predictable question of all.

"And how is Callie?" Stef asked just like she did each time they spoke or texted each other.

"She's doing really well." Lena replied, before continuing in more detail, offering as much as she could for Stef. "She's exercising more and reaching almost every goal they set for her. Her appetite has increased as well and she's been complaining of boredom so that's a good sign." She said with a small smirk, making Stef smile as well.

Stef listened as Lena gave her small details of Callie's progress on various aspects of her recovery and everything she heard gave her just a little more confidence to ask for what she wanted because everything Lena told her sounded like Callie was well on her way to recovery.

"I'm so happy to hear that." Stef said sincerely. "Everyone's been so worried about this transplant but I'm so glad that she's doing well." She said before taking a deep breath and getting to her point. "I was wondering, since she's doing so well and feeling better…"

Lena held her breath too for she knew in her gut what Stef was about to ask - she wanted more and Lena wasn't sure if she was willing to give it to her.

"…Do you think she would talk to me?" Stef finished, surprising Lena. "You think I could just say hi?" She requested.

Lena was silent for a moment. She expected Stef to ask if she could visit or try to come back into Callie's life and while talking to her was just the first, very small step, she knew it would eventually lead to more and she just wasn't ready for that. It wasn't even about Callie's health anymore for the girl seemed to be doing well but it was just that they had finally found some stability in their lives and Lena needed that plateau for a while before the up-hill climb began again.

"I'm not forcing this." Stef said when Lena had been silent for a little too long. "I'm just asking if I could say hi. You can ask her if you like. Let her make the decision. I understand if she says no but I'm just asking."

"I don't know." Lena answered honestly. "She's well and she's happy." She said. "I mean, she's cranky and fed up of being at home but she's doing well and I'm just…" She trailed off, not sure what she could say.

"Just ask please." Stef requested. "Tell her there aren't any secrets and no surprises, that I just want to talk and hear for myself how she's doing and if she's still not comfortable I won't ask again."

Another long pause followed as Lena considered her options - she could refuse right off the bat but Stef deserved a chance after everything she'd done for them and Callie deserved a say in this as well but if she showed any sign of anger or unease then Lena knew that she would put a complete stop to it once and for all.

"Okay." Lena finally replied. "I'll ask her and see what she says. Give me a few days okay." She asked, hoping for a little time to prepare herself for this next step.

"I'm not pushing." Stef assured gratefully. "Thank you."

* * *

"Why?" Callie asked with a nervous frown on her face as she listened to Lena's request. "I thought she was gone."

"She is." Lena answered. "She's not fighting for anything. She just cares about you and she called and I told her you had the transplant and she wanted to know if you'd reconsider talking to her, just to say hi."

Now it was Lena's turn to wait for a response as Callie considered her options. She could see the conflict on Callie's face and that surprised her for deep down she expected Callie to refuse immediately but the girl seemed to genuinely be considering the possibility.

"She's not forcing you." Lena reminded Callie. "She just wanted me to ask you and hoped that getting your permission first would make it easier."

"I'm adopted now." Callie reminded Lena, just to make sure that nothing could change that now, not even if Stef wanted to fight again.

"She's not here to take you away." Lena assured. "Things got crazy last time because everyone was so worried and stressed out. We've all had time to calm down and you're doing so much better now so maybe…"

"I should give her a chance?" Callie finished for Lena and Lena nodded. "I guess I could talk to her." Callie finally agreed, thinking it wouldn't be so bad to just test the waters first. "She was there when I needed her." She added, thinking about the time she'd drowned and Lena was unreachable.

But Lena was thinking about all the other times that Stef was there when they needed her that Callie didn't even know about and just like that she knew she was doing the right thing because Callie deserved a woman like Stef in her life and just like when this whole thing began - Stef would be another person in Callie's life that could love her and take care of her if something ever happened to Lena.

"She was." Lena replied with a smile, glad that Callie seemed to be taking this well. "I think she'd be really happy if you gave her a call." She said as she patted Callie's leg and then left her alone to make the call.

Five minutes later Lena got a text from Stef simply saying 'thank you' and she knew that Stef meant it with all her heart. The conversation had obviously been short and possibly been very awkward but it was a start and for Stef, and even for Callie though she probably didn't know it yet, it was a big deal.

* * *

Stef continued to call Lena almost daily and she'd call Callie twice or thrice a week and things were getting easier for both of them. There was more conversation and Callie was much more open. Both apologized for their behavior and both were able to forgive. Callie began to complain to Stef about how she was going crazy in the house all day and couldn't wait until she was allowed to go out unsupervised and live a normal life again but she knew it was another month or two at least before that could happen.

"I wish you could come tell me more about when you were a kid." Callie said casually one day as they talked. She remembered back when she was housebound after smoking and Stef would come and spend time with her - the woman had told her so many stories of herself and Callie missed that.

"Um, there was a point to those stories." Stef said, wondering if Callie even realized that. "You don't have to give up a part of yourself to be popular."

"I know." Callie answered, wondering why she ever felt so out of place. "I just wanted to be like everyone else for once."

"I know." Stef mimicked. And she did for everyone, no matter what age, felt like they were on the outside of something or the other.

And it was true for Stef felt like she was on the outside of this little family and Lena felt the same because Callie and Stef shared a bond that she could never make and Callie continued to wonder if her time in the system and her health would hold her back through the rest of her life.

"We all do stupid things sometimes." Stef continued. "We're lucky if it doesn't do any permanent damage."

"I got lucky." Callie said, thinking about how many times she could have died because of her stupidity.

"You did." Stef agreed. "And because of that we got lucky too." She added because she couldn't imagine what their lives would have been had Callie died.

For the first time since they began talking the topic had become serious and now neither really knew how to end it for it was becoming too heavy for both of them. But they both wanted more and they both enjoyed these chats. Callie was reminded of the time she was genuinely ready to give Stef a chance and Stef craved for those moments where Callie would smile or laugh.

"Maybe next time you're in San Diego you could come visit?" Callie finally said awkwardly, wondering if Stef would be okay with that.

What she couldn't see was the broad smile and tiny tears on Stef's face as she responded. "I'd love that." She answered, her heart jumping for joy as she imagined arranging it all with Lena.


	6. Chapter 6

Stef didn't wait even a moment after hanging up the phone to give out a very shrill, very teenage-like squeal in excitement - Callie had voluntarily asked for her company and while it was just a casual invitation with no full-term commitments, it was still something and it was something that Stef so desperately wanted. She couldn't get the grin off her face as she looked at herself in the mirror for it was the first time in forever that she truly felt this happy and now all she wanted to do was take the first flight out and go see her baby.

But slowly that smile began to fade and the rock in the pit of her stomach returned for it just occurred to Stef that she had to run this by Lena first. The last thing she wanted was for Lena to think she was trying wedging her way back into Callie's life for she didn't want to give Lena any reason to put an end to her connection to Callie. But Stef was nervous for the last time; the only time; that Callie had ever reached out to her, Lena had basically forbidden Stef to ever see Callie again and Stef just couldn't let that happen, not a second time. So instead she decided to wait until she next spoke to Lena, casually tell her what Callie had said and then wait a while before making it all happen because she didn't want to seem too eager. And once again Stef was filled with nervousness and unease for once again she was so damn close to everything she ever wanted but at the same time it was all so far away.

* * *

Callie was smiling, actually smiling and Lena was almost in tears as she watched her. This wasn't just a smile to show that she was okay but a genuine smile that showed just how happy she was and all it took was a donut. Callie was getting better and better and she'd settled at home and Maggie proved to be a very good nurse. She came on time and stayed the whole day, helping Callie with her exercises, helping with her bath and making sure her dietary requirements were met and then left early evening giving Lena and Callie some much needed alone time.

Now Callie's diet restrictions were slowly being lifted as the heart and her arteries were functioning well. She hadn't been allowed heavy, cholesterol-filled food for months because the more she had the harder her heart had to work and her old heart just didn't have what it took. Today, for the first time Callie was given a donut, plain powdered sugar donut but still, it was more than she'd had in so, so long.

"Thank you." Callie said to Lena as she bit into her donut, giving herself a powdered sugar mustache in the process. "This is like heaven." She grinned widely.

"Don't thank me, thank Maggie." Lena said as Callie took another huge bite. "She's the one who said you earned a treat tonight."

"True, but Callie's the one whose been doing all the hard work." Maggie added for Callie's benefit before she waved goodbye and left for the evening.

It was true that she worked hard but it was Callie who had to do the exercises, follow the rules and push herself past a comfortable limit and she was doing it all with very little complaining. The thing that bugged her the most was being stuck in the house all the time with nothing to do besides read and watch TV. She wanted to go out and make friends and do normal things but there was still a little time for that.

"So, I kinda did something today." Callie said tentatively as she took another, tinier bite of her donut. "I um, I was talking to Stef and I sorta invited her over sometime." Callie looked at Lena carefully to judge her reaction.

"You did?" Lena asked in surprise. She hadn't expected that and she was happy with the new routine they had. "When?" She questioned.

"It was just an open invitation." Callie answered, glad that Lena wasn't angry. "I just suggested that maybe she could come visit me the next time she's in town."

"Well, okay." Lena nodded, wondering if Callie even realized that with them no longer being _in_ Stef's life that she didn't come down to San Diego anymore. "Maybe she will."

Callie nodded but there was still an unsettling feeling in her stomach. "It's okay right?" She asks for confirmation. "You're sure she's not going to take me again."

"Honey, you're adopted, she can't take you but yes, I'm sure she just wants to be in your life." Lena assured, realizing that it wasn't her she was afraid of but Stef's involvement. Lena began to realize that Callie did want Stef back in their life and it was the same for Stef and if the two could get past everything then it would be good for both of them. She realized that Stef had been right, this time they were being open and honest and things were working so much better.

"Okay." Callie smiled happily. "I kinda hope she comes soon." She admitted like a little kid. "She was fun to hang out with the last time I was stuck at home for ever."

Lena smiled at her daughter and assured her that Stef wouldn't be long for she knew just how important this was to the blond woman as well.

* * *

"Hi Lena." Stef said the next day when she called. "How are you?" She asked predictably.

"I'm good, how are you?" Lena replied, the same way that they always did. Next Stef would ask about Callie just like every other day.

Only, this time, Stef surprised Lena by changing the topic entirely. "I'm good, been really busy with a new case. A son wants to take his father to court for not going to take their company in a particular direction. The father wants to keep it a small-time, community company but the son wants to sell it to a big, global company."

"Wow." Lena said, somewhat surprised - both at the fact that a kid would sue his father but also that Stef was talking about this. Stef very seldom shared information about herself for it was always Callie that they spoke about. "Can he do that."

"Legally, yes." Stef replied. "But ethically, it's going to tear that family apart. The father is old and he's built this from scratch." She said, without giving away too many details. "The son is only interested in the money and nothing more."

"How sad." Lena responded. "I guess, to the father, the business is like another child he's created and raised with love. The son was handed it with no effort so he has a different opinion."

"Unfortunately it's the son who came to us." Stef responded, "It's his side I have to take."

"Can you decline?" Lena asked before backtracking. "Do you want to decline?"

"I can, I want the father to have his way but if we win it will be great for us." Stef replied, torn between her own company and an old man with a heart. "Turning a client away wouldn't be good for us so Max wants to take it."

"I'm sorry." Lena said sincerely, wishing she could do something to make it an easier decision for Stef. "Let me know how it works out." She added supportively.

"I will, thank you." Stef said gratefully.

An awkward pause filled the conversation as Stef searched for something else to say. "I um… How are your parents?" She asked.

And that was when Lena realized that Stef was nervous and stalling. She was afraid to tell Lena that Callie invited her and nervous to admit that she wanted to accept the invitation.

"Stef, Callie told me she invited you." Lena said, giving Stef a break.

"She did?" Stef asked in surprise and relief but the worry about Lena's answer was still there.

"She did." Lena said, smiling at Stef's reaction.

"I wasn't sure how to bring it up." Stef admitted. "I don't want to overstep or upset you."

"I'm fine." Lena replied reassuringly. "She's actually pretty excited about it." She added for Stef's benefit.

"Really?" Stef asked. She was thrilled and so hopeful that things would work out this time.

"Yes." Lena assured. "Will you just get on a plane already." She said, before Stef gave herself a heart attack from worrying so much.

"First flight tomorrow." Stef said, giddy with excitement.

Lena imagined her doing cartwheels around the room. "Great, I'll let her know. See you tomorrow." She said before hanging up.

Lena was grinning to herself as she headed up to tell Callie the plan. But on the way her phone rang again and when she answered it her smile disappeared and another burden was added on.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm so sorry to have to do this Lena, but the board just won't allow any more leave." The principal of Anchor Beach said to Lena. "You've had a total of over three months paid leave this past year and that's more than allowed. If you do not return to work at the beginning of next month then I'm afraid I'm going to have to find a permanent replacement for your class."

"No, I understand." Lena said miserably as she tried to figure out what to do. "Thank you and thank you for all your help, I know you've all been so supportive though this whole process."

"We love Callie and you are a part of this family, it's just… the board makes the rules." The principal said, clearly sympathetic to Lena's situation.

"Of course." Lena agreed. "I'll figure out the plan and be at work week after next." She promised, knowing that losing her job wasn't an option.

* * *

Lena was completely stressed out. Her parents had only gone back home three weeks ago and they had their own lives and jobs that needed their attention as well. Lena had to leave for school at seven-thirty every morning and didn't return until five or five-thirty each evening and leaving Callie with just Maggie for ten hours every week day just wasn't something she was prepared to do for it was too much even for Maggie. Callie was doing very well and could get around the house by herself. She could even go out for a bit and Maggie was always with her but still, Lena just wasn't ready to leave Callie alone with anyone else, no matter how capable they were. No one would look out for Callie the way that she would. She had only had Callie for five years now and that wasn't enough and the fear of almost losing Callie was still too fresh in her mind. Unfortunately Callie wasn't cleared for school yet, or any crowded, public place at all but Lena didn't have the luxury of waiting around until Callie could join her in school.

Lena had been up more than half the night researching various special care facilities for Callie to spend the weekdays in but most of them only took full-term patients who required long-term care and none of them allowed private nurses. Daycares that provided educational and social activities didn't take children as old as Callie and therapeutic institutes took them only on appointment basis' which meant that after her hour was up Callie would not be allowed to stay. And a part of Lena was thankful for this because she didn't want to put Callie in a care facility either. The truth was that she wanted to be with the girl herself.

All morning Lena was trying to figure out what to do. Callie was already complaining of boredom and no matter what Lena tried to engage her in it just wasn't enough. Thankfully Callie seemed to be in a happy mood that day and hadn't picked up on Lena's worry. The two had scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast and it wasn't too much of a chore to get Callie to finish her share. Maggie had showed up and helped Callie with her shower - a task that still tired the girl out and then the two began their breathing exercises which, surprisingly, Callie didn't complain about.

Lena was in the middle of researching all her options - part time work, leave of absences, unpaid leave and bank loans when her doorbell rang. Not thinking much of it Lena walked to the door, her mind still on the loan she was looking into, and opened it to Stef who was smiling widely but nervously at the same time.

"Oh. Hi." Lena said in surprise. She had completely forgotten about Stef's visit with everything else that was on her mind.

"Hi." Stef said, her own smile disappearing at the look on Lena's face. Lena seemed okay with her visiting the day before so what had happened.

"Please, come in." Lena quickly got a hold of herself as she moved aside to allow Stef to enter with her carry-on - a clear sign that she'd come straight from the airport. "I'm sorry, I've been a little preoccupied with something, I completely lost track of the time."

"Don't worry about it." Stef said, relieved that it wasn't her visit that Lena was preoccupied about. "Anything I can do to help?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Lena said as she lead them into the house towards Callie's room. "But I know Callie's excited to see you. She was doing some exercises, let me just check if she's done." She said before disappearing into Callie's room.

Stef waited four grueling moments before Lena came back out and dramatically directed Stef towards Callie's room - letting the older woman know that Callie was not only expecting her but also eager to see her.

* * *

"Hey," Stef said with a look of relief on her face that made Lena and Maggie smile. "You look so much better."

"Thanks, I am." Callie smiled back. She was tired from the exercises she'd been doing and looked forward to just laying down and talking to Stef for a while. "How are you?"

"I'm good." Stef said honestly. Nothing compared to finally seeing Callie doing well for herself. "I'm glad to be here."

"Me too." Callie said back.

The two looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. Neither sure of what to do for they hadn't seen each other in ages and the last time that they did, it didn't end well.

"Why don't you have a seat and I'll get you something to drink." Lena suggested. "Callie can tell you about all the TV she's been watching."

"Not much else to do." Callie stated as Stef pulled up the chair in the corner of Callie's room. "When all this first started the idea of as much TV as I wanted was awesome but now, not so much."

"Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing too." Stef replied. "Have you considered a hobby?"

"I love taking pictures but there's not much to take from inside the house." Callie replied. "I take a few when we go for walks but they aren't anything great."

"Well, what else do you enjoy doing?" Stef questioned, looking for more information on Callie and ways to help her pass the time.

"Last term I did this high school project…" She began but Stef interrupted her.

"High school?" She questioned in confusion.

"Yeah, the Social Studies teacher thought it would help me and it kinda did." Callie continued explaining. "We pretty much got to tell our stories in our own words in order to help other people understand where we've come from and why we are the person we are. It was really interesting and I think I learned a lot about myself as well."

"It sounds wonderful." Stef said impressed. "Being able to learn about yourself like that and show other people a side of yourself that they wouldn't otherwise see."

"People don't really look. We only see what we want to see, both in others as well as ourselves." Callie replied. Her's wasn't the only good project that day. There had been others that were just as moving and just as meaningful. What made her different was the fact that she was the only one not actually in that class, she was the only one several years younger and she was the only one that was potentially dying.

"You are very, very wise." Stef said as she looked at Callie closely, imagining her a few years from now, all grown up and taking over the world. "I'm so happy that things are finally working out for you." She added with a sincere smile.

"Thanks." Callie replied. "I feel a lot better and not just because I actually physically feel better." She said with a laugh as she pointed to her chest. "I think I feel more tolerant of myself now and I guess I don't care so much about being like everyone else. I'm happy just being me."

" _You_ are a great person to be." Stef agreed. "It sound's like this project was just what you needed."

"Karen; that the social studies teacher, had to basically force mom to let me do it." Callie explained. "I think it was because of all the stupid things I'd been doing."

"We all do stupid things, believe me." Stef assured. "Not one of us is free from stupidity."

"I doubt you did a lot of stupid stuff." Callie teased. "You are so smart you probably always had your nose in a book."

"I will have you know that I once got sent to the principal's office on the very first day of school." Stef replied, faking hurt at being considered so predictable.

"What did you do, used the wrong color post-it?" Callie teased back with a grin. This was what she wanted, just some simple fun with a woman she liked and was maybe even learning to love.


	8. Chapter 8

"But she's not terminally ill." Lena said into the phone to yet another facility that took care of chronic patients. "Okay, thank you for your time." She finally said as she hung up. Why was it that every facility only took care of people who were going to live there? No one took them for the day while parents or family members worked? _Of course they didn't,_ Lena thought to herself. _Those people just hired private nurses._ But Lena was still not okay with leaving Callie alone no matter who was going to look after her.

A knock at the door distracted her from her thoughts and she turned around to see Stef standing there, bag in hand, ready to leave after visiting with Callie.

"How did it go?" Lena asked curiously. She had originally been worried about this meeting but by the time she went back to Callie's room with some lemonade the two were already trying to one-up each other on the times they'd gotten into trouble. Eventually Lena's mind wandered back to her current crisis - the need to be with Callie and at work at the same time.

"Really well." Stef smiled but then her eyes focused on Lena's computer screen when something unexpected flashed back at her. "Mercy Home for Children?" She questioned in confusion. It almost sounded like an orphanage to her.

Lena shook her head in response, her mind returning to her worries. "I have to go back to work." She answered honestly. "I can't afford to stay home and longer and I don't want to leave Callie home all day everyday with just Maggie and nothing to do. I mean, I don't want to leave her at all but I have no choice. I was looking for a place to take her during the day that will meet her medical needs but also give her academic and social activities. Basically a daycare for someone whose in recovery but they all keep telling me that they only take long-term or terminal patients."

Stef opened her mouth to speak but before she could even get the first syllable out, Lena raised a hand to stop her.

"I know, you said I could use the money for me and the house as well and if I need more then you will help but it's not right and there is no logical reason that I can't leave Callie, I just can't because I don't want to leave her with just anyone. You cannot support me while I sit home and do nothing. I already feel like a bitch for taking even this much from you after treating you so badly but this I did it because Callie needed it but now this is my problem so no, thank you, but I cannot take any more money from you, not as a gift, a loan, a ransom, nothing."

Stef closed her mouth once Lena was finished with her rant for she'd basically covered everything that she was about to say but it did give her another solution; one that Stef considered perfect but she wasn't sure she'd say the same for Lena.

"Look, I appreciate every single thing you've done for Callie; for us, but I can't take any more money from you." Lena finally finished, turning Stef's offer of more money down completely.

Both women remained silent for a while, both thinking and letting the other process but it was clear that Stef had more to say and was struggling with getting it out and so Lena just gave her the time.

"Okay." Stef finally accepted and worked herself up into giving her final solution. "You said you're not comfortable leaving Callie with just anyone." Stef began nervously. "What about leaving her with me?" She asked cautiously but quickly continued before Lena turned her down without even hearing her out completely. "I'm not saying she lives with me or anything like that but I could stay home with her and Maggie while you work and I know I'm not you and you want to be there for her yourself and I know I'm not her mother and I'm not legally anything but I'm also not nobody, at least I hope I'm not and Callie seems open to the idea of me in her life again." She paused here for a moment expecting Lena to turn her down immediately but Lena remained silent and seemed to be seriously considering the offer for Stef was still standing there and Lena didn't look like her head was about to explode.

The silence was deafening for Stef and so she felt the need to add. "It's just an offer, I'm not pushing and I would never let anything hurt her." She added nervously, afraid that once again she'd overstepped and Lena would send her right out the door.

"No, I know that." Lena assured. The one thing she was completely certain of was that Stef loved Callie and would protect her with everything she had. "But you live in San Francisco Stef, how could that work?"

"I can move." Stef replied without missing a beat. She took a step closer to Lena in her urgency to show just how important this was to her. "I can get a house here. San Francisco isn't home anymore Lena, San Francisco isn't home." She said, clearly showing where her priorities lay.

"It's not that easy Stef." Lena pointed out, wishing that it actually was just that simple. "What about your job and your family? What about Max?" She asked, knowing that the man was just as in love with this woman as she was, if not more so.

"I can get a job here Lena." That's not a big deal. "This is what matters and it's what's important and everything else can be worked out. If you're okay with this then this is what I'd rather be doing."

It was clear that Lena was still torn by the idea of taking anything more from Stef, in any form and whether it was from fear of Stef pushing too hard or guilt from the way Lena had treated her she didn't know but she had to keep trying. "Look, I promise you I'm not out to destroy your family. I just want to help and I can help. I've never lied to you and I'm not lying now - I will just be there to supervise and you know that I will make sure she's safe. You have to put aside your pride or fears or whatever it is that's holding you back and do what's best for Callie. You've done it before and I know you can do it again." Stef ended, knowing that it was a lot harder than it sounded for she herself had done just that - put her daughter's best interests ahead of her own.

Lena was staring at Stef, amazed by the mountains she would move for Callie and she knew right then and there that it was the best solution; the only solution for it was the first time that she truly felt confidant in leaving Callie and going back to work.

"Yes." Lena finally said with tears in her eyes for this woman in front of her came to her rescue time after time. "Yes, it's perfect." She smiled and so did Stef and for the first time the two women closed the small gap between them and hugged; something that they had never done before.

Now the only thing left was to get it all set up and that included telling Max that she was selling her share of the company and moving away to be with the family she loved.


	9. Chapter 9

Stef and Max had been friends since their first year at Yale and they had been basically inseparable from the start. They often did things together and kept each other company and supported each other, especially through the pressures that both sets of parents laid on them to do well and honor their family names. They helped each other study and pushed each other to do their very best and they made a great team. They did have other friends but they were always together. Stef had dated a few boys during her college years but none of them had lasted more than a few weeks and Max had the same fate with the handful of women that he went out with but the truth was that Max was only in love with Stef and Stef, though she didn't know it, was attracted to women. But despite all of that they had managed to maintain a great friendship that was clearly going to last a lifetime. They had gone their separate ways for a a year and a half after college when both of them were interning at different law firms but kept in touch and met weekly for coffee and just to catch up until they began to dream up their own firm and less than a year later _Foster and Scott_ was born. And now, almost ten years since they first met Stef wanted to make a giant change to their lives and she wasn't sure how Max would take it.

Stef was pouring two glasses of wine as she waited for Max to walk through her door at any minute and she was dreading the conversation she was about to have but she knew she was doing the right thing for Callie was the most important person in her life and if she could be there for her then there wasn't anything that would hold her back.

Max knew that something was wrong from the moment he walked through Stef's door for he could read Stef like a book and the woman was obviously nervous about something but because he knew her so well he could also see just a touch of a sparkle in her eyes which told him that whatever she needed to say wasn't necessarily a bad thing and for some reason that gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach.

* * *

"She's doing really well." Stef said to Max as the two were sitting on her balcony drinking wine and looking out at the lights of the busy city at nine at night. "She looks healthier too, I didn't realize how pale she looked before until now but her cheeks are pink and her eyes sparkle and best of all she smiles when she sees me." Stef said, her own face lit up with joy. "It's going to work this time." She added more to herself than to Max.

"That's great Stef." Max said sincerely. He loved seeing her so happy and so relaxed and nothing had ever made her smile like this the way that Callie did. "Things are really looking up for her with the adoption and with her heart doing better."

"I think that's why she's more open to knowing me." Stef replied. "She feels safe now that Lena is legally her mother and so she's okay with staying with me while Lena works."

Stef clearly hadn't meant to say it that way but Max, excellent at picking up on things, caught the words quick. "Staying with you?" He asked, wondering what that entailed exactly.

Once again Stef looked nervous as she tried to find a way to tell Max that she was changing their lives for good. "Lena needs to go back to work but Callie is still on the anti-rejection meds and so she is still basically housebound for a few more months and Lena's not comfortable leaving her with just the nurse all day."

"So you're going to stay with them until she can go back to school?" Max questioned.

"I'm moving there." Stef finally blurted out. "I'm going to get an apartment and move to San Diego."

Max was dumbfounded for he never expected that. He wasn't sure what to say for this only sounded like a temporary thing to him for Callie was eventually going to get better and wouldn't need a babysitter indefinitely.

"What about after?" He asked. "What happens when she's better?" He was concerned for both their sakes for Stef seemed to be getting her hopes up way too high.

"I need to be with her Max." Stef said, well aware of what she was doing to him. "She's my daughter and I can't stay away, not if I have a chance with her again."

"Stef, your whole life is here. Foster and Scott is here and Callie has a mother." Max said, unable to just let her go without a fight. "You can keep visiting her like you do now but you can't just leave forever."

Stef didn't reply for that was exactly what she planned to do and more than that, it was what she wanted to do for she wanted as much of Callie as she could get. Neither of them had taken even a sip of their wine for ages and the view in front of them was long forgotten as both were completely focused on the conversation.

"Look, go down there for a few months, we'll make it work like we've done all these months but the firm needs you Stef, you're the best lawyer we have." Max suggested.

"I leaving Max." Stef said with finality. "I'm leaving the company and I'm leaving San Francisco. I need you to buy out my shares."

Max stared at Stef for what seemed like an eternity, trying to figure out how to sort this out but nothing could compare to what Callie could give Stef and so he knew he had to do the right thing.

"No." He said with a shake of his head. "No, I won't buy you out."

Stef was all ready to argue because she desperately needed this. She couldn't keep traveling back and forth because she needed and wanted to be there for Callie and the work pileup was too much.

But Max stopped her before she could even begin. "We expand." He said quickly, before she could get a word in edgewise. "We are partners and it's going to stay that way. We've made it work all these months and we'll do it again. I don't want to lose your friendship or partnership. Foster and Scott isn't the same without _Foster_ or _Scott._ "

"Max." Stef said is disbelief. "Max I know you've always carried a torch for me and I don't want to hold you back anymore."

"You're not." Max assured. "This isn't about love, it's about friendship; I know that now. It's obvious you two belong together."

"Who?" Stef asked, her eyes wide wondering what Max was talking about.

"Lena." Max said. He watched Stef carefully and realized that Stef wasn't entirely aware of her feelings and yet, the idea seemed to please her.

"You're crazy." Stef said aghast. "What are you talking about?"

" _You_ _'_ _re_ crazy." Max rebutted. "About her and I'm not sure if you're just hiding it, denying it or genuinely clueless but it's not only Callie that you're going for. Dinner that night she looked at you the same way that I do. The only difference is that you were looking at her that way too. I guess it all makes sense now, the way that no guy ever seemed to be enough for you."

"NO." Stef said vehemently. "She's Calle's mother, It would never work." She stated, inadvertently admitting that Max was right. Considering the circumstances though, it was just too much to even consider.

"Yes, it will." Max offered gently. "It will all work out. Haven't you learnt anything from those cheesy Hallmark movies you keep watching?" He asked teasingly, hoping to let Stef know that it was okay for her to feel the way that she did - that _he_ was okay with it."

"I don't even know if she feels the same way." Stef admitted shyly. She didn't realize that her feelings for Lena were so obvious - even to Max. She had never considered that she might be gay but she did know that no one ever made her feel the way that Lena did and now that Max had made her truly think about it, she knew that he was right and there was no hiding or denying it anymore.

"She does." Max assured. "She definitely feels the same. Maybe, just like you, she's afraid too."

The two spent the rest of the night talking about everything - Callie and Lena, expanding Foster and Scott, past boyfriends and girlfriends, future hopes and dreams. They laughed and they cried and they wished each other every happiness and they celebrated their friendship - determined that this wouldn't be an end but just a new chapter in their story. And for the first time Stef realized just how much Max actually loved her for he was willing to let her go so that she could be happy.


	10. Chapter 10

Less than a month later Stef was standing in the living-room of her brand new home in Mission Bay. It was a four bedroom house with three bathrooms, a spacious living room, large kitchen with a breakfast area, separate dining room, a back and front yard and a two car garage. But the best part of it was that it was just a twenty minute drive from Lena's apartment and even less to Callie's school. Stef had spent a lot of time looking at places to live online before she made the move. At first she'd looked at apartments similar to the one she lived in in San Francisco but something seemed to be missing from every single one of them and later Stef realized that it was space. Sure, her three-bedroom apartment had been more than enough space for her and even guests at times but this was different - Callie was a child and needed her own space. Yes, Stef was aware that Callie's wasn't actually going to live with her but still, she wanted Callie to know that she did have a spot in Stef's home and so she began looking for something bigger with not just room space but a yard and a family room and the works. This four bedroom home was just what Stef needed for it had a room for her, one for Callie if she ever came to stay, the third she planned to make into an office for herself so that she could begin expanding their company soon and the last would be a guest room for Max or even Lena if the two ever needed to stay over. Now Stef was finally moved in and each box was already in it's respective room, waiting to be unpacked. The only room that was still empty was Callie's and Stef had decided to let the girl decide how she wanted to decorate it.

After discussing things with both Lena and Callie at great lengths it was decided that Callie and Maggie would spend the weekday mornings and afternoons with Stef at her new home instead of at Lena's house. This way Stef could finish setting things up quicker, Callie got out of her own house and even spend time outside for a while without being in public and her new project was picking out bedding and nicknacks for her room and Stef could also work in her new office without having to carry files and folders around with her. And with Lena, Callie and Stef all working together on this new set-up, things were going very well for them.

"I'm thinking yellow." Callie said, coming down the steps with Lena close behind.

Stef turned to watch them with a smile on her face.

"Really?" Lena said in surprise. "That's brighter than you usually pick." She stated, expecting her daughter to have picked blue or perhaps green for her room.

"I know, but everything's been so dreary lately I thought a little sunshine might be nice." Callie replied as both she and Lena sat down on Stef's new couch. "Is that okay?" Callie asked Stef for confirmation for it was her house after all.

"Honey, that's your room, you can paint it hot pink with purple stripes and green polkadots if that's what you want." Stef replied, letting Callie know that she had the reins on that room.

"Yellow's good, thanks." Callie grinned for they all knew that pink just wasn't her color. "But since decorating is up to me too you think I could get my own TV?" She asked cheekily.

"NO." Both Stef and Lena replied at the same time. Stef knew that Lena wanted to raise Callie with values and a respect for money which she both appreciated and respected. There was no need for a teenager to have a TV in her room, heck, Stef wasn't getting one in her bedroom either. One TV in the living room was plenty and even Callie knew that.

"Just checking." She replied smiling. She had known all along that the answer would be no.

* * *

And the following Monday Lena went off to work after dropping Callie and Maggie off at Stef's home for the day. Stef, not much of a cook had tried her hand at a simple roast chicken and mashed potatoes but she also ordered three salads and sandwiches from a popular deli just in case. She was both nervous and excited at the same time but when she opened her front door she knew that she had no reason to be for Callie walked in and gave her a hug and waved to her mother like it was no big deal. She had come armed with ideas and pictures of things she wanted for her room and Stef imagined this was what Callie was like while doing the school project that she still talking about often.

* * *

A few weeks passed and this new arrangement seemed to work well. Eventually Maggie would show up at Stef's house on her own and Lena would drop Callie off on her way to work. Some days Callie would go home right when Lena came to pick her up but other days they would stick around till dinner as Lena taught Stef a few easy dishes that even she could manage and the three got to know each other better. Callie volunteered information about her desire to be a marine biologist and Stef promised to take her back on the ferry one day since Lena wasn't comfortable being out on the water.

"I hope my heart won't hold me back." Callie said as she stuck her fork into a piece of fish. "I know I'm getting better but you think they'll let me dive?"

"I don't know honey." Lena replied. Callie was only fourteen right now and while she had shown interest in marine biology for a few years now, it still could change and Lena's main focus had been her health. "We've still got time so let's see how your heart is doing after a few years."

"I don't even know what else I'd pick if I can't." Callie responded sadly. "Swimming away into a completely different world had been her dream for so long and while she no longer needed it as an escape, it was still the dream that had kept her going and she wasn't ready to just give it up.

"You know, even if you don't actually dive, you can still be a marine biologist." Stef pointed out. "I know it won't be the same but if marine life is what you're interested in then the research, the discoveries will still be the same. There are boats and pools you can swim in and leave the diving part to someone else."

"I guess." Callie shrugged for she had never put that much thought into any of it. "I never even thought about what else I might like to do. I definitely don't want to be a teacher." She said, making Lena laugh. "I don't have the patience for moody, whiny kids. What's it like being a lawyer?" She asked Stef for the truth was that she knew very little about Stef's life and the truth was that now she did want to get to know her better - a job, her life, her family - _her_ family.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey Baby." Lena said one day a few weeks later. It was a Saturday so Lena had no school and Stef flew back to San Francisco for some work. They were in the process of expanding the company and Stef was busy interviewing people to work for her but until the expansion was official she was still helping out with San Francisco like she had been doing when she'd first started a relationship with Callie. So now, Lena and Callie were alone for the weekend and both of them were looking forward to having things just the way they used to be for a couple of days.

"Hey mom." Callie smiled as she looked up from her computer. "Guess what, Maggie said that I officially reached my goal on the breathing machine thingy. She used some term but I forgot what it was but she said that I was able to hold enough air in my lungs as any person with no heart condition at all."

"That's great sweetheart." Lena smiled widely. She didn't have the heart to tell the girl that Maggie had already informed her of the fact just a while ago, being as she was the parent and required to know this information.

"Yeah. Now once my heart can take the pressure of the exercises and once the anti-rejection course is over I'll be a free woman." She stated boldly, acting as though she was being held captive by a wicked witch or troll. "Of course, once I start school again, I'll be held captive by the homework police." She accused as she glared at Lena."

"Can't have everything honey." Lena teased back as she gave Callie a kiss and glanced over her shoulder at whatever was on her computer screen. "What's this?" She asked curiously as she looked at Callie who was biting her lower lip guiltily.

"I was just trying to piece together my family." She explained of the pictures of Sharon Foster that was displayed on Google Image Search. "My biological family." She quickly amended. We hardly know anything so I was just..." She trailed off nervously, afraid of what Lena might think.

"It's okay to be curious." Lena assured with a smile as she too looked closely as the pictures of the woman on the screen. She wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse that Stef's family was very well known and therefore easily searchable on the internet but if Callie wanted answers then Lena wasn't about to hold her back.

"I was just wondering who I looked like." Callie answered. "I don't look like Stef and I only know her parent's names so I searched them but I don't look like them either. Do you know my father's name?" She questioned.

Lena shook her head as she continued to study a picture of Frank, Sharon and Stef when Stef was about seventeen or so. Yes, Stef had blond hair and hazel eyes while Callie's were both brown and Callie's complexion was slightly darker too. Their features weren't the same either but looking at that picture Lena could see a certain resemblance that wasn't very obvious. It was in the look in Stef's eyes; Lena had seen it often in Callie as well. It was a look that always told her that Callie would conquer the world one day and that nothing and no-one could stop her. Maybe Callie was too young to see it yet or maybe she was focusing too much on the more obvious attributes that they could share but either way she wasn't able to see what Lena saw.

"Why don't you ask Stef about all this?" Lena suggested as she finally focused back on her daughter. She took a seat on Callie's bed and Callie rotated in her chair to look at her mother.

"You think she'd be okay with that?" Callie asked, wondering if Stef would mind answering her questions.

"I don't see why not." Lena answered. "It can't hurt to ask. Why don't you do that on Monday when you go over to her house?" She suggested, thinking it was another project that Callie could work on to keep herself occupied.

Callie nodded and once again bit her lower lip. "Can you be there with me when I ask?" She requested like a small child. "Just in case she doesn't want to talk about it?"

"Of course." Lena smiled assuringly. "But just remember one thing, either way, you may not like what you hear." She pointed out, thinking of their predicament in the first place. After all, Stef was forced to give up her baby which meant that things weren't going to be pretty.

"I know." Callie replied. "I just want the real story that's all. I hated Stef so much all my life and then I found out that she didn't even have a choice and that she did what she thought was best for me. I guess I just want the truth so that I don't have to keep wondering all the time."

"Then we'll ask." Lena said supportively. "Just remember that I love you and grandma and grandpa love you and Stef loves you and you are happy and healthy and that's all that matters.

Callie nodded as Lena pulled the now mid-teenager onto her lap to give her a hug, reminding her of just how much she was loved.

* * *

When Stef landed in San Diego on Sunday evening she was invited straight to Lena's house for dinner. Lena hadn't mentioned anything about Callie's curiosity just in case the girl changed her mind or wasn't ready but it was the perfect setting - in Callie's own home where she felt most comfortable and Lena was there to help mediate for both sides just in case either one of them found it too difficult.

The three of them sat down to a home-cooked dinner of steamed halibut and lemon rice. Stef, always amazed by Lena's cooking skills was complementing her on the delicious meal when Callie just blurted out her question.

"Can you tell me about my dad." Callie asked, causing Stef to stop mid-sentence to look at her in surprise. She hadn't expected something like this.

Stef turned towards Lena to judge her reaction for she wasn't sure what to do. She herself had absolutely nothing against telling Callie whatever she wanted to know but she wasn't sure that Lena felt the same way or that Callie would be happy with what she learned.

Lena though, smiled supportively and nodded slightly, letting Stef know that it was okay. Now she felt like maybe she should have given Stef's a heads-up but it was too late and whatever happened, happened.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." Callie offered when the silence had gone on for too long.

"No, no it's fine." Stef quickly assured now that Lena had given her permission to share. She paused a moment to figure out where to start for she hadn't planned or prepared for any of this. "Um, his name was Ted Armstrong and he was probably the most popular boy in school." Stef began and soon she was just telling the story like it was just that - a story. "I was always considered a good girl and my parents had high expectations of me so I tended to stay out of trouble but this one night right before my senior year we went to a party and he showed some interest in me and I had had a couple of drinks and I got a little, or I guess more than a little, carried away. It hadn't really meant anything to either of us but that was really all it took and a few weeks later I realized I was pregnant." Stef explained. That night seemed like a lifetime ago and while she would never be able to remember the details, it had changed her life completely.

"How did you know?" Callie asked curiously, glad that Stef was willing to share for she'd been wondering these things for a while now.

"I missed my period and I was scared so I took a test." Stef said. "I wasn't naive, I mean, I knew it could happen even if I only had sex once or even if it meant nothing and even if we used a condom but I just didn't expect it to happen, you know." She shrugged.

"Your parents got mad." Callie stated more than asked for she was sure she already knew that answer without having to ask the question.

"Yes." Stef answered with a small smile, knowing that while this was her story it was also Callie's and so she had to be carefully about how she put it across.

"So what did they do?" Callie asked in curiosity.

Through all of this Lena remained silent, letting the two talk for no matter what their situation was right now, this had nothing to do with her. Besides that she was also curious for she also wanted the same answers. She kept a close eye on both of them though, just in case she did need to intervene.

"Well it took them a few days to really come to terms with it." Stef explained. "My dad kept yelling and my mom was so disappointed. In the end they figured it was best to give the bab…" she paused because that baby that had, at the time been abstract, was now Callie; "…you; to a family that was ready for a child so that, you and I could both have futures."

"What about Ted?" Callie asked, wondering what he and his family had to say about all of it.

Stef once again looked at Lena and instantly Lena understood that it wasn't going to be very nice but she'd talked about this with Callie and Callie understood that she may not like everything that she heard and she was okay with it. And so with another nod of encouragement, Lena urged Stef to continue.

"He didn't want a baby." Stef answered honestly. It's not like we were a couple or in love or anything and he had the ability to just walk away. When his parents suggested abortion I refused to even consider it and so his parents stated that they wouldn't be a part of this." Stef felt cruel for even having to tell this story to the child that she had been carrying. "It wasn't about you." She tried to assure. "It was just the mind-set back then. He had a bright future and he was the boy so he could pretend like none of this ever happened. The truth is he just wasn't ready."

"Neither were you." Callie pointed out since Stef had told her that several times herself.

"No, I wasn't." Stef agreed. "I wasn't ready to be a mom, no one plans it at that age but I knew that I wasn't going to have an abortion and thankfully my parents accepted that. But I still wasn't in a position to look after a baby, not without someone to support and help me."

"I get it." Callie offered. She could see the remorse in Stef's face and hear it in her voice and she felt bad for Stef had been a child herself, not much older than she was now and she knew that if she was in that position she would have felt just as lost. "I guess this is what they mean by it's the thought that counts, right?" She smiled supportively.

Stef nodded and smiled sadly back. She had meant well but that didn't change the fact that several people had gotten hurt in the process.

"My parents wanted the same chance for me and so my dad arranged for the adoption through a church." Stef continued with the story determined to get it all out now that she'd started.

"You think he knew that I wasn't adopted?" Callie asked, wondering if the man that was supposed to have been her grandfather knew the hell she'd been through.

"I doubt it." Stef said, sure of her answer though she didn't know the facts. "Once you were born and given away he pretty much tried to pretend that it never happened in the first place. He wasn't the type to follow up on something like this."

Callie looked away and down at her hands. She wasn't sure if she should feel upset about all this but the truth was that she just wasn't. All these people, though they were technically her family, held no importance for her. Stef hadn't either, in the beginning, but it was the knowledge that Stef hadn't meant to hurt her that convinced her to give the woman a second chance. But back when she'd thought that Stef had given her away because of her condition, she hadn't expected anything from her at all which was why it was easy to just walk away.

"I'm so sorry Callie." Stef said. "I know that I keep saying that it wasn't about you or because of you but in the end you're the one paid the price. It crushed me to give you up and I thought of you every single day but it was you who actually suffered because of it."

"It's okay. I forgive you." Callie promised. She paused and glanced at Lena before looking back at Stef. "You can forgive yourself too." She offered kindly as she reached across the table and offered her hand to Stef.

Stef was in tears as she took Callie's hand and held on tight for though she didn't realize it, she had needed to hear those words. She needed that support, even if it was from a fourteen year old who she should have been supporting.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas Everyone**

 **Love Junebug and Buggling**


	12. Chapter 12

As dinner carried on and eventually ended Stef, Lena and Callie continued to talk. Callie and Lena were finally getting answers to so many questions and Stef, for the first time ever, actually opened up about everything she'd kept inside for years. It was the first true bonding experience for all three of them and as the hours passed they almost felt like a family.

"Do your parents know about me?" Callie asked as she curled up on the couch in the crook of Lena's arm with her legs stretched out across the couch while Stef sat in a chair across from them. "I mean do they know that you found me?" She clarified.

"Yes." Stef answered. "I told them that I was looking after I found out that you went into the foster system."

Callie nodded and had something else to say but she was clearly couldn't seem to figure out how to ask. "They weren't interested in getting to know me?" She finally asked outright for there was no other way to put the question across.

"I asked them to stay out of it." Stef explained honestly. "I never completely forgave them for what they made me do and after I found out what really happened to you we sort of had a big fight and my father wasn't thrilled that I wanted to find you. He believed that I should have just left it all alone instead of trying to dig up things that were buried a long time ago. Then when when the custody battle began and you were hospitalized he reminded me again that I was ruining all our lives and to just leave you alone."

"I'm sorry." Callie said. She felt bad that Stef's parents weren't supportive of her. It seemed ironic to her that she had only had a mother for the last four years but still had more love and support than Stef who had a well-to-do family all her life.

"Hey." Stef said as she leaned forward in her chair to make sure that Callie understood that what she was about to say was very important. "Never ever feel like any of this was your fault. _You_ are not the cause of any of this. The choices that we made are on us - your father should have stepped up, I should have fought harder and our parents should have been more supportive but none of that is on you. This wasn't your fight. You were a victim and you didn't choose any of this so please, please don't ever feel like any of this happened because of your existence." Stef said firmly before she got up and went to sit next to Callie who moved her legs to give Stef some room. "Callie, believe me when I tell you that there wasn't a single moment from the day that you were born that I wished you didn't exist. I have loved you every day and the only thing I regret is not being there for you."

It was now Callie's turn to let the tears fall as she reached out to hug Stef and Stef hugged her back as tight as she could. "I'm glad you didn't listen to them about finding me." Callie whispered into Stef's shoulder.

"Me too." Stef whispered back as she held Callie even tighter if it was at all possible.

"Are they still mad?" Callie asked as she pulled away and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her long-sleeve T-shirt. "You moved away from them to be with me."

"No." Stef answered as she brushed away some of Calle's hair that had stuck to her tear-streaked cheeks. "Their lifestyle is very different and a lot of their ways depend on how other people will view them. I think they just really wanted the whole thing to disappear. They never forced me to have an abortion - even they weren't comfortable with that; but they just wished it never happened at all. I think maybe in their own way even they hurt from losing you. I know they always wanted grandkids, just not like that. I was first supposed to find a worthy husband, have a big wedding and an even bigger birth announcement… that sort of thing."

"But then why were they mad that you looked for me?" Callie asked curiously. She couldn't really understand Frank and Sharon for most of the time Stef described them as good parents but what good parents put their daughter and granddaughter through such hell?

"I was digging up old hurt; bringing up the scandal again. They are very conscious of what their friends and society think of them. When everyone was talking about the pregnant teenager my mother could barely show her face anywhere. My father coped by just pretending it wasn't happening. Eventually, over the years, people forgot. There was no baby to remind them and things died down and then I began digging it all up again." Stef said. She had grown up in that lifestyle and she did understand what a scandal she'd caused but what she still couldn't understand was how that was more important than the life and wellbeing of a baby.

Callie considered everything that Stef had told her about what should have been her family. She then glanced around her living room and noticed the throw-rug, tossed casually over the arm of a chair; a bowl on a table by the front door that held Lena's keys along with odds and ends like paper clips, safety pins, rubber bands, spare change and even a stamp; well-read books filled a small bookshelf and a bunch of Callie's things littered the small coffee table. The house looked lived in - it looked like a home and Callie didn't want it any other way.

"I think I'm glad that my life isn't like that." Callie finally said, carefully considering her words before saying them. "I'm happy to have a few people who really love me rather than lots of people who only judge."

"You are very lucky that you found Lena." Stef agreed whole-heartedly. She looked up at Lena and smiled, ever-thankful for the woman who managed to give Callie what she never could.

Callie nodded as she gave Lena a kiss on the cheek. No matter what, Lena was her mother and she loved her. "You think if your parents had helped you would you have kept me?" She asked, realizing that if things had been different then she would never have met Lena.

"My parents would never have hurt you." Stef tried to explain. She could see that Callie was confused by her parents but the truth was that they weren't bad people; they were just doing things the way that they were taught and the way that society programmed them to. "They would never have harmed you but growing up under the judgmental eyes of society is not easy. When something doesn't go according to what they consider proper then it's always a scandal. Imagine going up constantly hearing about the fact that you were born to a teenager; that your mother couldn't go away to college because she had a child to support or that your mother wasn't as grown up and mature as everyone else's. My parents wanted a normal life for you and me both. That's why they decided to give you to a stable family like Lena's, simple and scandal-free. That family, the Jacobs, they were supposed to have been like that too so I don't know why they changed their minds when they learned of your condition.

"Me either." Callie said with a shrug. "But I don't think I want to know. I wanted answers about my mother but I don't think I want to dig into every family that took me in. This is enough for me."


	13. Chapter 13

Slowly the days turned to weeks and everyone was well settled into their new arrangements. Callie was getting stronger by the day and since going back to school, Lena began bringing some work back for Callie as well so that the girl wouldn't have too much catching up to do when she got back. Lena had already been working with her on the subject matter over weekends but now even assignments and projects were being completed and Callie hoped like hell that she wouldn't be held back a second time. Medical or not, flunking the year was embarrassing and no fun at all. Callie's latest medical tests also came back very positive, showing that she was well on her way to leading a normal life. Her anti-rejection medication was almost coming to an end; she was able to reach every goal on whatever machine they put her on and whatever exercise they made her do and she was able to go the whole day without any tiredness, weakness or dizziness. She was now even allowed to go to friends houses for an hour or two or out for a walk as long as she stayed away from very crowded places and close contact with any sick person. Maggie was also coming to the end of her time with Callie for the girl no longer needed a private nurse. She was still warned to continue exercising and eat healthy but neither required constant monitoring and so at the end of the month when Callie's anti-rejection medication came to an end, Maggie would be on her way as well. Callie was given an extra two weeks of taking things easy and letting her immune system build up again before she needed to see the doctor and get the 'all clear' to resume a normal teenage life. With time, if she continued to progress the way that she was, then she could also try safer sports such as swimming and track. Any sport that involved a ball or contact of any form would come later.

With a well-chewed lower lip and bouncing knee Callie sat in front of the doctor as he looked over her latest test results. He then looked up and Callie and Lena and smiled.

"You, young lady, are good to go." He said and Callie cheered like never before. She was more than ready to go back to her life for she had been cooped up in hospital and home for the last four months. "Remember to exercise and stick to your diet but otherwise I don't have any reason to keep you locked up any longer."

Callie couldn't stop smiling as Lena continued a conversation with the doctor about regular checkups, occasional treats and junk food and any signs or symptoms that would require her to see him immediately. With everything covered, Lena and Callie left the hospital to join Stef for a celebratory lunch at Callie's favorite restaurant - The Cheesecake Factory.

"I'M FREE!" Callie screamed as she rushed towards Stef who gave her a hug and kiss as they walked into the restaurant together. "I'm free." She said again for dramatic effect.

"Congratulations!" Stef smiled. "Though I am going to miss holding you hostage." She teased, for a part of her was going to miss spending all that time with Callie.

"Actually I had a thought." Lena interrupted as they all sat down and the waitress handed them some menus. "Since there's only three weeks of school left before summer, I was thinking that maybe we could keep things the way they are. I will talk to the school about letting you give your exams to clear this year and then you can actually start school fresh next year."

What Lena didn't say was that she was reluctant to send Callie back to school in the middle like this for kids were bound to talk and she wasn't sure just how that would affect Callie. The last time Callie had been a regular at school she had been very conscious of what the other kids thought of her and Lena was scared that Callie might fall prey to peer-pressure once again. She hoped that sending Callie back at the start of the school year would make the transition just a little easier for everyone would be returning from a break. Of course, Callie would still be returning after a major surgery and a long break but still, it wouldn't be as noticeable as if she went back in the middle of the term.

"That sounds like great idea." Stef said with a smile. "And maybe, if your mom says it's okay, then we can have a little celebratory vacation during the summer." She added, looking at Lena to see if she was okay with it. Maybe she should have waited and asked Lena first but she hoped that Lena would be okay with it.

"Oh, yay." Callie cheered again as they waited for Lena to respond.

"Okay." Lena smiled and gave in for this was such a happy day for all of them. "But nothing too expensive or fancy." She warned before turning to Stef for the next rule applied to her. "And you are not paying for everything." She said frankly.

"We'll work out the details." Stef agreed. She respected Lena's decision though she was more than happy to take care of the bill if need be.

Lunch carried on as the three of them talked about vacation spots ranging from a second trip to Disney World all the way to a round-the-world-trip that started in California and ended in New Zealand. Of course most of those were only playful suggestions that they all knew weren't going to happen but still, it never hurt to dream.

In the end they decided to take things a little easy since Callie was just starting to move around again. They settled for Los Angeles where they would stay a nice hotel with a pool and a spa and enough to do there itself, visit Hollywood and see if they could spot any famous people, see the major sights like the walk of fame and visit some of the museums and parks and Stef even promised to take Callie to Rodeo Drive for a bit of shopping with a very strict budget as per Lena's rule. Disney World would be saved for another time since Callie couldn't go on any of the rides anyway and Lena wasn't a fan of them herself.

One week later all their plans were fixed. With a little debating and convincing and just a smidge of arguing too, Stef and Lena managed to come to a compromise - they would leave the day after school closed for the summer and drive down to Los Angeles and stay in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, on Stef. It was far fancier than Lena had ever imagined but eventually she agreed on the condition that they only booked one room and that all the gas and meals would be on her. Stef had agreed and then booked the suite - Lena and Callie in the room and Stef would sleep in the living area on the couch. Both Stef and Lena had given Callie a hundred dollars each that she could spend on whatever she liked during the trip and Steward and Dana had sent a hundred dollar check for her as well and Callie now had three hundred dollars all to herself. They all felt that considering all she'd been through in the last few years, she deserved this. Stef agreed to help her pick out some clothes and accessories that would both, help her fit in as well as cater to her personal style. The sightseeing and leisure they planned to do would all be planned on the spot depending on what they felt like doing each day and on how Callie was feeling and then the following Saturday they would drive back home for the following Monday Stef was needed in San Francisco for court.

Two weeks later the three of them were all packed and loaded in the car with everything they could possibly need including snacks, Stef's expensive camera, Lena's well-planned but flexible itinerary, Callie's medication and medical file in case of an emergency and at eight-thirty on Saturday morning they were of on their first adventure together.


	14. Chapter 14

Nearly four hours later the three of them were finally in their hotel room. The two and a half hour drive had taken longer thanks to two rest stops and one breakfast stop but all in all the journey had been quite pleasant for they had talked and shared stories and just enjoyed the drive.

"WOW!" Callie exclaimed as they entered the Wilshire Suite. "This is awesome." She said as she took in the large flat-screen TV, the fancy furniture and huge window that overlooked the hotel pool, playground and a beautiful street. "Can we live here?" She asked in awe.

Stef and Lena smile as Stef tipped the bellboy and then followed Callie and Lena further into the room. There was a large living area with a small dining table, pull out couch and a well-stocked bar and entertainment unit; a bedroom with a king-sized bed, chocolate on the pillows and complementary robes and slippers and an enormous marble bathroom with a tub large enough for two, a spacious shower stall and a small dressing area which included a closet. The toilet was around the corner with it's own door, giving a person their privacy.

"This is my favorite suite." Stef told them as she wheeled Lena's luggage into the bedroom. "It's the most homely one. I love the browns and beiges. The other rooms are too white or grey.

"You've been here before?" Callie asked.

"Twice." Stef replied. "Once with my parents when I was just a little younger than you, my father had a conference in this hotel so he brought us along as well and once after I graduated from Yale. Max and I came down here for a holiday before our jobs started."

"Wow, that's so cool" Callie admired. "When I first saw your room at the plaza, I almost wanted to be your friend just so I could hang out there." Callie said teasingly. "I never imagined staying in a room like this before. I thought they only existed in the movies."

Both Stef and Lena laughed as Lena remembered being just as taken by Stef's hotel room herself. This was definitely a luxury they would never afford and while they were grateful to Stef for doing this for them, she knew that it was going to be a one-time thing for Stef had already done more than enough.

"Check this out." Callie called as she bounced onto the giant bed and picked up a Beverly Wilshire Welcome Package that had been left there. "They have a pool, a spa, a children's playground and game room, three ball rooms, two board rooms, a business lounge, a bar, a coffee shop and a restaurant." She read off a list of services provided. "They even have a small boutique for clothes and jewelry and they will do your laundry for you if you need. They've even given two complementary drink coupons for you guys and a complementary DVD pass for me." She said proudly when she saw her name on the card that gave her full access to their vast DVD collection during her stay in their establishment. "I love this hotel." She grinned broadly. She then opened up a little book that featured the more exotic and unique offers. "A Night with the Stars." She read as Lena and Stef sorted through a few things, getting themselves organized. "Cool, they have these tent you can rent on the roof and sleep under the stars." She explained as she glanced through the write-up. "Pretty Woman for a Day." She continued on to the next item. "Apparently some movie called _Pretty Woman_ was filmed here back in nineteen-ninety…" She began but was interrupted.

" _Some movie_?" Stef said in shock. "Haven't you ever heard of _Pretty Woman?"_ She asked.

"No." Callie answered with a shrug. "It's an old movie."

"Nineteen-ninety is not old child." Stef corrected before she sat down next to Callie and glanced at the page. "It's a classic." She explained. "Richard Gere and Julia Roberts."

"I've heard of her." Callie said, trying to think of any movie she might have see her in. "Not him." She added making Stef and Lena smile.

"Well this movie is a great love story." Stef said with love-struck eyes.

Lena, who was rummaging through her bag for a change of cloths, burst out laughing. "I never pegged you for the romance movie type." She commented as Stef spoke of the movie with passion.

"God, I love them." Stef admitted. "True love, happily ever after…"

At this even Callie began to laugh for the truth was that Stef just didn't seem like the type. She was so straight-forward and practical it was hard to imagine her being blinded by love.

"Come on, it's a fantastic movie." Stef complained to Lena when they were ganging up on her.

"It is." Lena agreed with a laugh.

"So we can watch it tonight?" She asked with a grin. They were all tired after the drive and had decided to just spend the rest of the day at the hotel. They would have a light lunch, laze around the hotel, have an early dinner and then head to bed.

"It plays on channel one every night at nine." Callie read off the page.

"Okay." Lena replied with a nod. "Pretty Woman it is." She announced.

"So, what's it about?" Callie asked, wondering what all the hype was over this movie.

"A rich businessman rents a hooker for a week to be his date for a few business events but eventually he falls in love with her even though their worlds are so vastly different." Stef summarized.

Listening to Stef, Callie's eyes were wide in astonishment for she never expected Stef nor Lena to watch a movie about a prostitute.

"Hooker?" Callie said in surprise. "Like, he pays her for sex?" She clarified.

At this Stef quickly turned to Lena for help for she didn't know how to answer. She didn't think that Callie was too young for this but what the hell did she know?"

"She's not exactly portrayed as a fishnet stockings kind of prostitute." Lena explained. "She's classy. It's pretty unrealistic. Just wait and watch the movie okay." She finally said.

"Okay." Callie agreed, still weirded-out by this entire conversation.

* * *

After a late but light lunch, the three spent the afternoon doing separate things. Lena decided to check out the spa and get a massage while Callie headed down to the pool to relax and people-watch. Stef, tired from driving, opted to stay in the room and sleep for a bit. All three of them were enjoying their time to themselves but each one of them was also waiting until six when they had all planned to meet a again in the room before heading down for dinner. Over the last few weeks they had come to learn that they liked spending time together and got on well and when they weren't thinking about it or trying too hard, Stef's integration into their lives was practically seamless.

After dinner, Stef and Callie take turns in the shower before the movie and then all three of them snuggled in bed with Callie in the middle and soon they were all quiet as they watched. Stef was instantly engrossed by the movie for it was one of her favorites but Lena spent a fair amount of time watching Stef for the woman had surprised her. This was a softer but confident side to Stef that she'd never seen before. When it came to Callie, Stef had always seemed to need to prove herself and earn her place and the rest of the time Stef was bold and strong and capable of handling anything. But now Lena got to see a more human side of her - she was fun and playful and carefree and relaxed. Life wasn't a battle and there was nothing to win and for the first time, Lena realized, that despite Stef's obvious differences from her parent's lifestyle, she was still subconsciously driven by what other people thought of her. It wasn't so much about scandals and gossip like her parents were afraid of but more of putting up a strong front and keeping any vulnerabilities well hidden and whether it was due to her job or a way of keeping herself protected, Lena didn't know.

As the next two hours passed Callie was pleasantly surprised by the movie. Lena had been right - Vivian was absolutely nothing like a hooker. In a way it was just like their own lives - obviously no one was paying anyone for anything but Stef was like Edward, handed a life that had everything money could buy but had a lot of room for improvement where family and truth were concerned and Lena and Callie were like Vivian, simple with nothing much to offer but they still possessed the one thing that Stef had lacked her whole life - a family that loved her for _her_.

By the end of the movie everyone was tired and more than ready for bed and so Callie turned off the TV while Lena turned off the table lamp and Stef climbed out of bed and headed to her pull out couch in the other room and within minutes everyone was fast asleep.

* * *

 **Happy New Year Everyone! Hope 2018 brings you everything you ever hoped for.**

 **Love Junebug and Buggling**


	15. Chapter 15

Over the course of the next four days Stef, Lena and Callie toured the entire city. On Sunday they visited Hollywood and went on some of the tours of the sets including the Warner Bros Studio, Universal Studios and Paramount Studios. The got to visit some of the homes of famous stars and saw where Katy Perry, Tom Cruise, Ellen Degeneres and David and Victoria Beckham lived and where Jennifer Aniston, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Elvis Presley used to live before they moved away. Callie was on top of the world and even Stef and Lena were excited to see their own favorites.

On Monday they went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum where each of them took silly pictures with their various celebrities including the Royal Family, Spiderman and Mahatma Gandhi. Callie was having the time of her life and though she was fourteen, she was anything but a teenager as she squealed in excitement as she ran from one wax sculpture to the next of the people she recognized and idolized. She knew that this was the closest she was ever going to get to any of them and she was making the most of it. She stuck her head under the arm of the Hulk and pretended to be terrified and held a shot-gun just like Jesse James and even tried to kiss prince William, though Kathrine was standing right next to them.

Next they made their way to the Barnsdall Art Park and the Hollyhock House where Callie truly appreciated the works of art displayed there and Lena was just about ready to move in when she saw Frank Lloyd Wright's newly restored library. There were sculptures and paintings and tourists creating their own masterpieces. The gallery even offered classes for adults and children and held several other activities like wine tastings, cinema nights and cultural events that they did not experience.

That night they headed to Griffith Observatory where they got a fantastic view of the entire city below. They went about a half hour before the sun set and watched as Los Angeles went from a bright, green city to a giant jewel box with lights twinkling as far as the eye could see. They sat though a fantastic planetarium show and then stood in line outside to get their turn at the telescope. Various exhibits kept them occupied through the hours until ten when the observatory finally closed and they headed back to their hotel room.

They spent the whole of Tuesday walking up and down Rodeo Drive and went into almost every shop just to browse. There wasn't much that they were looking to buy. More than half the stuff had price tags that Callie was sure were in pennies for no item of clothing should ever cost that much but thought the day they all did find several things that they liked and weren't ridiculously out of their price range. Callie even picked up a new swimsuit that was trendy but still modest enough to cover her entire chest, including every scar and Lena, though reluctantly, picked up an expensive Cashmere scarf that she was sure would look too fancy with anything that she owned but it was so pretty and so unique that eventually she gave in, with just a little coaxing from Stef. Stef herself picked up a couple of formal pant-suits for work and even some dresses for formal social events that she was occasionally required to attend but looking back, she realized that ever since Callie came into her life, that life of hers had died down. This young child had become the center of her world and very little else mattered - not that she was constantly at parties to begin with.

Wednesday was spent lazying around the hotel and enjoying everything that it had to offer. They headed down to the pool where the three of them got in and Callie, for the first time, got to genuinely enjoy the experience. She was very careful for her last encounter with a pool had ended in disaster but with both Stef and Lena there and with things more under control, she was fine. They ordered lunch by the pool and relaxed. Callie stuck her earphones in her ears while Lena read a book and Stef first caught up on some emails and then just closed her eyes for a while as the sun shone down on them but a light breeze kept them cool. Pool-boys were constantly bringing them water and juices and snacks and then they headed to the game room to see what they had. A friendly game of billiards kept them laughing for Stef was the only one who actually knew the game and had played it before. Callie found the cue stick far too long and Lena just couldn't get the hang of it. Eventually they decided on a game of scrabble that Stef and Lena found quite competitive as they were both very good at the game. Eventually they headed to the spa where this time all three of them got massages and finally it was time for dinner and then they headed back to their room for another movie night.

On Thursday, their last day in Los Angeles, they headed back to Hollywood to do a few things that they hadn't done before. First on the list was the Hollywood Bowl and though it was morning and there were no performances, it was still an experience to stand and look down at the stage and imagine what it would be like to perform in front of so many people. Next they headed to Lake Hollywood Park armed with a huge picnic basket that the hotel had provided for them. They spread out on one of the picnic benches as watched as adults, children and pets ran around the open grassy fields. They had a wonderful view of the Hollywood sign and lunched on some delicious sandwiches, mini pies and tea cake along with fruit and apple juice. And finally, late afternoon they headed down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Look, Mickey Mouse." Callie grinned as she pointed to a marble star on the ground. "And here's Johnny Depp, he's so cute."

"Charles Chaplin." Lena pointed out with a smile that only Stef shared for Charlie Chaplin was a show long before Callie's time.

"Morgan Freeman." Stef noticed. "I love that man."

"Me too." Lena agreed. "He's a good actor and a great man."

"Look, Michael Jackson." Callie squealed as she took a picture of her feet standing on his star. "He looked so weird but he sang so well."

"Marilyn Monroe." Callie called out. She knew who that was and she knew that Lena would like to see. "And look, the Beatles, mom you love them." She said. "She still listens to them." Callie told Stef.

"So do I." Stef replied with a laugh as she followed Lena to the star.

They went on and on and found more names they knew and loved - Jennifer Lopez, Walt Disney, Vin Diesel, Ellen Denegeres, Elvis Presley, Sharon Stone, Ronald Reagan, Tommy Lee Jones and even Bugs Bunny.

"It says here that Julia Roberts turned down a star." Callie read off a guide booklet they were given. "So did Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, George Lucas, Angelina Jolie and some people I never even heard of." She shrugged before reading their names too. "Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood and Diane Keaton. They aren't interested in getting one and apparently there's like a big ceremony they have to attend if they do."

Eventually Callie was so tired from walking around so much that they headed back to their hotel room and just ordered room service for dinner. Each one took a shower and by nine o'clock, Callie was more than ready for bed. Stef and Lena still had their complementary drinks unused and so they decided to head down to the bar for a while just to talk and enjoy their last evening on what was a fantastic holiday.


	16. Chapter 16

"I remember being just as excited as Callie was when I first came to L.A." Stef said as she took a sip of her scotch. "My father had a business meeting and my mother and I tagged along. I imagined meeting all kinds of famous people, Madonna, Molly Ringwald, Tom Cruise, Andrew McCarthy, New Kids on the Block." She laughed at herself as she shook her head. "Clearly I was dumb."

"No you weren't." Lena laughed. "Actually I think the chances of meeting someone famous was greater back then. Things weren't as dangerous as they are today. All the time you hear about violence and attacks. Malls and theaters get bombed and kids bring knives and guns to schools." She said, remembering how life seemed so much simpler back when she was Callie's age which wasn't even all that long ago.

"That's true." Stef agreed. "I also think kids weren't as reckless and daring as they are today." She added.

"I think it's the social media." Lena said, taking a sip of her red wine. "Back in our day, we didn't have the world cyberstalking us. We didn't have that many people to impress and there wasn't any life-long record of the things we did. Whatever we did was forgotten in a week but today with Facebook and Twitter and Instagram kids have records of the things they've done years ago and they have to… I don't know, keep up their reputation, I guess."

"I've noticed that actually." Stef commented. "I wasn't sure if it was just Callie, because of her heart, or all kids today but no one is outdoors anymore. Most of them stay home and can still _hand out with friend_ , so to speak." She observed. "Even when they are out in malls or wherever, there're usually on their phones."

"It's an addiction." Lena agreed. "It's not good, believe me. As teachers we try to encourage more face to face interaction but kids don't really seem to know how to communicate without the internet. They don't know what to talk about or how to carry a conversation. Still, of all the things to be addicted to, social media is one of the milder ones."

"It's like that with special occasions and travel too these days." Stef continued. "Everyone spends so much time taking pictures to remember the experience but no one is actually paying attention to what's happening. I have such few photographs of myself growing up but I still remember everything and I got to experience it. I've been to more countries than I can count and seen so many amazing things and I don't have photos or videos of all of it. Today's kids spend more time looking at everything through their phone screens they may as well stay home and watch a travel channel."

"It's true though I for one would love to travel to so many place." Lena answered. "I've only ever left the country twice - once to Canada for a wedding and once to Mexico with my class right after I high school. I've read about so many places and I teach my kids about different cultures but it really would be fantastic to experience it one day."

"It is wonderful." Stef agreed. "Where would you like go? What's at the top of your list?" She asked curiously.

"Italy." Lena quickly replied without having to think at all. "And Austria, Denmark, Germany, France." She added for each one seemed just as important. "The wildlife in Africa, the Serengeti and Maasai Mara and the pyramids in Egypt. I'd love to visit South-East Asia too. The culture there is so rich and different. I'd love to walk on the Great Wall of China and see the terra-cotta soldiers and visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Sri Lanka is supposed to be very beautiful too." Lena began to explain with passion. "And I'm very interested in World War Two and the Holocaust so it would be very interesting to go on those tours. They say that you can go and see the building where Anne Frank was hidden."

"I've been there." Stef said. "It's very moving. We were taken on a trip during my junior year in high school because we were studying about World War Two and we did Anne Frank and Schindler's List some other books about the Holocaust."

"Wow." Lena admired. "Where else have you been?"

"Most of the places you listed." Stef responded. "My parents took me to most of Europe as a child and I travelled a little when I was in college. I've been to parts of Asia but not much. I've only ever been to South Africa and Kenya and we did go to Maasai Mara but it was off season so we didn't get to see the migration. I've been to Brazil and the Caribbean and Argentina too."

"It really must be something to see so many things that are so different from the way that we live." Lena responded. Her glass was almost empty by now but she was no where near done talking for she was having a wonderful time. "I had planned to travel someday."

"What changed?" Stef asked curiously, her own drink also at the end and so she signaled for the waiter to get them each another.

"Well, I never planned on Callie." Lena answered. "I mean, I imagined having children one day but I didn't imagine starting out with a ten-year-old when I was only twenty-four. When I met her I just loved her and she just fit into my life and I knew I wanted her. But before all that I wanted to teach and save up and eventually I wanted to travel and teach children who wanted to learn and I wanted to change the world; to make a difference." Lena was smiling as she imagined a cluster of young children gathering around her, hungrily absorbing every word she shared with them.

"You did." Stef offered kindly. "Maybe you didn't change the world or even hundreds of kids' lives but you did change the world of this one child."

Lena looked down at her newly filled glass as she considered what she wanted to say. "I feel lucky that you gave her up." She said softly, feeling awkward feeling such a thing, let alone admitting it. "I know how that sounds but if you hadn't then I never would have gotten the chance to be her mother."

"I am grateful everyday that she found you." Stef assured. "I hate myself for what I put her through and I can't even begin to explain how much I owe you for being who I could never be."

"I was terrified when you showed up." Lena admitted. "I was sure you'd eventually want her back and I was so sure you'd win."

At this Stef laughed a defeated and disbelieving laugh. "There was no way I would have won." She told Lena, knowing that if she was the judge then she would have kept Callie with Lena without a doubt.

"You're her biological mother." Lena stated as she began to list all the reasons that Stef would have gotten custody of her daughter. "You had no history of abuse or drugs and you were a teenager when you gave her away. You had the means to support her though anything including her medical needs and you're a lawyer. I only had her for two years with no previous experience fostering so I'm sure the judge would have picked you."

"First of all I only knew her for fifteen minutes." Stef pointed out. "I didn't know the color of her eyes or what her voice sounded like or even what her name was. And I don't have the family that you have. You have people who love her just for who she is without any conditions or consequences. You have parents that supported your decision to parent a child that wasn't even your own and my parents couldn't help me support their own grandchild. You were there for her when she had absolutely no one and no judge would be able to ignore that." Stef told Lena before she smiled and added the most important factor. "And more than any of that, Callie wanted you and that is something I can never compete with."

"I think she needs us both." Lena replied. "And I think she wants that too. You became a part of her life and I think she missed you when you were gone. I know she wanted to live with me and when she found out about the custody battle she was mad at you and didn't want you to win but she still wanted you in her life. She did this project a few months ago about what she wanted the world to know about her and how she wanted it to see her and it's you she hopes to see in herself. She didn't tell me that and I'm not sure she even realized it herself but it was you that she described."

By now Stef was smiling but tears were pouring down her face for that was the best thing that Lena could have told her. She wanted so much to be a part of Callie's life and it warmed her heart to know that Callie admired her.

"Come over to the school one day." Lena invited. "Her project is up on the wall in one of the halls. The essay is pinned up and the artwork is fantastic."

"I never imagined how much it would hurt." Stef said as she wiped the tears from her eyes with a napkin. "Those months when I couldn't see her, I was drowning and I couldn't catch my breath. I was taken off every case and I drank myself to sleep most nights. I didn't know what to do; I didn't know how to go on."

"I"m sorry." Lena apologized. "I should never had taken out that restraining order against you. I was wrong but I was so scared."

"I'm sorry too." Stef offered. "I was just as afraid."

"Being a parent is hard." Lena said, smiling at Stef.

"It's a rollercoaster of emotions." Stef agreed. "When Callie needed that transplant so desperately, I felt so helpless. I had all this money that I could give but it still coudln't guarantee that she lived.

"In such a short time she became such a huge part of my life." Stef said as she drained the last of her final drink. "I never knew how much I could love someone and I would do anything for her. She is everything to me; you both are. You are part of her family."

As Lena listened she realized that she felt the same way about Stef as well though she wasn't comfortable saying it. Stef had become just as important to her as well and she wondered what would happen now that they weren't going to spend as much time with Stef as they had been these last few months. Callie would be going back to school and Stef would start working full time again as well. They would still be a family for Callie had bound them together for life but it just wouldn't be the same.

"I know I've said it before but I'm saying it again…" Stef said, looking Lena straight in the eye. "If there is ever anything I can do for either of you please don't ever hesitate to ask. You have done so much for me by giving me this relationship with my daughter and that makes you my family."

Lena nodded and smiled as she reached out to grab Stef's hand in support as the older woman continued to blink away tears that she couldn't seem to make stop. The two of them just sat in silence, their hands linked as they stared into each other's eyes, a genuine love for the other filled each of them. At one point Lena's gaze drifted from Stef's eyes and down to her mouth and Stef self-contiously licked her lips. There was definitely something happening between them and they could both feel it though neither had said a word.

By now the hours had slipped away and they had each finished their second and even third drinks. The bar was basically empty now except for a few other customers talking softly and a handful of waiters collecting empty glasses and bottles and wiping down the tables while soft, slow music could be heard over the low hum of a cappuccino machine. But to the two of them none of that existed as they both looked at each other, their hearts beating just a little bit faster and their eyes darkening ever so slightly. Stef wanted to do something, you could tell from the way her lips twitched as she tried to figure out exactly what that something was and how she was supposed to go about it. The pit of Lena's stomach tightened in anticipation as her thoughts ran wild and her throat went dry, unable to utter another world. It was just the two of them in the entire world when all of a sudden the breaking of a glass popped them out of their little bubble.

Stef instantly pulled her hand away as she turned around to see two waiters picking up the pieces of a broken whisky glass. She used this moment to pull herself together for she wasn't sure what had just happened or how to handle it.

"We should head up to bed." Lena said, before Stef had a chance to turn back around. "We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow."

Stef only nodded as she requested for the bill that she would need to sign so that it could be added to their room bill which she would pay the following morning.

Without another word and with an awkward distance between them the two headed up to bed and the bare minimum was spoken through most of the next day as they drove back home and Stef dropped Lena and Callie off at their house before driving back home herself. Their holiday had been wonderful and except for the awkwardness of the night before things had gone very well and they were too afraid of ruining things by talking about them and so they opted to just avoid the topic all together. Both women spent the evening doing laundry and putting their things away and eventually settled into bed where they finally let their thoughts run wild. They imagined what would have happened had that damn glass not fallen or if they had met under different circumstances and they promised themselves that they wouldn't let their feelings show for no good would come of it. Though they had both felt it, there was no way that either could prove that the other felt the same way and so it was safer to just bury the feelings and pretend they weren't there. But it was only when Stef got a frantic phone call from Lena, well past mid-night that the fantasies truly did vanish.


	17. Chapter 17

Stef held Callie close as Dana and Lena clung to each other. More of Lena's family and friends filled the small church were Stewart's funeral was being held. It had come as a shock to all of them for Stewart had had a heart attack while he was asleep and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Lena was the first person Dana had called and Stef was the first person that Lena called and Stef instantly arranged for tickets to fly all three of them to Leawood, Kansas and she'd been a huge support since then.

Entering Lena's childhood home for the first time, Stef realized just how modest an upbringing she had. It was a two bedroom house but much smaller than the one Lena and Callie had back home. The small living room was divided into a living and dining area for the kitchen did not have room for even a two-seater table. The couch in the living room could be pulled out to make an extra bed for Callie the few times they'd visited. There was only one tiny bathroom and a coat closet by the front door which Dana had converted into a workspace. There was a small sewing machine with one bare, bright lightbulb hanging above it and numerous baskets and boxes filled with what Stef assumed were pieces of material, lace, ribbon, bows and button, threads and needles and the like.

But if Stef felt out of place or uncomfortable in the meager surroundings she didn't show it. Instead she helped out wherever she could - refilling sandwich platters and jugs of lemonade during the wake when the tiny house was filled with several dozens of people. Stef did meet a few of Lena's family and friends but there were so many people and everyone was dressed in black and the atmosphere was so subdued that she found it hard to remember who was who. They were all very kind and welcoming though and Stef wondered if they even knew who she really was and the role she played in Lena and Callie's lives.

As the wake continued Stef made sure that Callie, Lena and Dana got something substantial to eat for the three of them barely got a moment to themselves as relatives and friends came up to share their condolences and offer whatever verbal support they could. The women from the neighborhood brought casseroles and other simple meals for the family for the next couple of days or offered to help Dana with the simple mending she had to do for clients. They obviously weren't seamstresses themselves but the odd buttons and rips they could manage. Everywhere you turned you could hear the men sharing stories about Stewart and his generosity, friendship and expertise at fixing almost anything. Even young children brought simple things like a flower from a garden or a small plastic action figure in respect for the man who had often repaired their bicycles, bells or broken toys.

So through the day Stef learned a lot about Lena and her life but the one thing she admired the most was just how close-knit this community was for no matter how little they all seemed to have, there was still enough to go around and she realized that day that the less you owned, the more you had to give and as tears filled her eyes she realized that this was truly the type of family she had imagined for Callie when she'd given her up all those years ago. These people had gathered today to pay their respects to Stewart Adams and support his family not because it was required or because they were expected to but simply because they wanted to.

Wiping wet eyes Stef began to gather empty plates, cutlery and glasses from around the room and took them back to the kitchen for a bit of privacy. She rinsed them up and only then realized that there was no dishwasher - everything was done by hand and so she rolled up the sleeves of her seventy-five dollar top and began scrubbing plate after plate.

* * *

Eventually one by one everyone left until it was just the three Adams women and Stef left. Lena entered the kitchen for the first time to find Stef washing the last of the cutlery and immediately rushed over.

"Stef, you don't need to do that." Lena said, slightly embarrassed for her life was a far cry from Stef's.

"It's fine Lena, it's the least I can do." Stef assured with a smile. She had long since regained her composure but had continued to do the cleaning just to help in any way that she could.

"Thank you." Lena said sincerely. "And thanks for arranging the tickets so quickly."

"Don't mention it." Stef said as she grabbed a dishtowel off the counter and began drying the plates. "Is there anything else I can do? Can I get you something else to eat?" She questioned. She couldn't even imagine what these three women were going through for she had never lost a family member before and more than that she wasn't sure she was ever close enough to any of them to even feel this way.

"No, it's all done. Thank you." Lena smiled. "Have you eaten?" She asked, wondering if Stef had taken a moment for herself.

"I have." Stef assured. "What about your mother and Callie?" She asked, knowing that they were just as upset themselves.

"They are just cuddled on the couch." Lena smiled. "I think my mom just needed to hold her; we came so close to losing her just a few months ago."

Stef nodded for she understood that feeling completely. But with Callie they had knowing it was coming and they had time to prepare; not that it would have made it any easier. But with Stewart it had come as such a shock that they were still trying to process it.

"Why don't you take my room tonight." Lena said, pulling Stef out of her thoughts. "Callie and I can take the pull-out."

"No, please." Stef denied, folding up the cloth once she was done drying the dishes. "You have your room, I'm fine on the couch for a night." She said.

"Stef…" Lena began, ready to remind Stef that she was not at all used to slumming it on a slightly lumpy, old couch."

"I'll be fine." Stef interrupted. "I'm not a completely spoiled brat." She added with a smirk, trying to make Lena feel at ease.

Lena smiled back and nodded before she went back outside to join her mother and daughter while Stef headed to the bathroom to shower and give the little family some privacy.

* * *

Lena and Callie were absolutely exhausted. The jet lag, the emotions and the events of the day had wiped them out but late at night Dana found herself unable to sleep as she reached her hand out to the other half of her bed which was eerily cold. Unable to shake the chill from her bones she decided to get herself some tea. She quietly headed into the kitchen so as not to wake their guest but between the late hour and her own jittery nerves she made more noise than she meant to and a few moments later Stef appeared in the doorway.

"Let me help." Stef said as she carefully took the kettle from Dana's hand and began filling it from the tap. She put it on the fire and then leaned against the counter next to Dana as they waited for it to boil. Stef didn't expect Dana to talk, she assumed the woman was too consumed with her thoughts to really acknowledge her presence but she was surprised when she began to speak.

"Thank you for being here." Dana said to Stef, though she was looking at nothing in particular. "It means a lot to all of us." She said, knowing that even Lena and Callie felt a sense of comfort in having Stef around.

"Of course." Stef said, always ready to offer support. "If there's anything else I can do, please, all you have to do is ask."

Again Stef expected a simple reply or a nod but once again Dana surprised her.

"He was a good man." Dana felt the need to clarify to the only person in the house who knew about Stewart's infidelity. "Despite his mistakes, he was a good man." She said, finally looking up at Stef, hoping that the woman, whose opinion didn't really matter, believed her. He was a great husband and father, he was just under a lot of pressure." She tried to justify.

Stef nodded in understanding. There wasn't anything she could say for it wasn't up to her to forgive him or hold him accountable. It was for Dana to decide and obviously the woman had made her peace with it a long time ago. This was just her way of strengthening it now that Stewart was dead and Stef was the only one she could turn to.

"Take care of them." Dana finally finished as the water began to boil. Stewart's passing had made her release that anything could happen at any time - she could be gone in a few days herself or something could happen to Lena or Callie and they would be stuck. "Whatever happens, make sure they're okay." She said, somewhere between a request and an order.

"I will." Stef assured as she took Dana's hand and gave it a squeeze before going over to finish making the tea. Nothing else was said as the two drank their tea and then headed back to bed but that simple conversation had helped settle both their hearts.

* * *

The next morning Stef was flying back to San Diego and then to San Francisco. She had missed her first day in court but Max had covered for her.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay? I can help and Max can fill in for me in court." Stef offered as a taxi honked his horn outside to signal his arrival.

"No." Lena assured. "I think we need some time alone, just the three of us." She said.

"Of course." Stef understood as she picked up the small carry bag she'd brought with her. "Just let me know if there's anything else I can do." She reminded Lena.

"I will." Lena assured. "We'll be back at the end of the summer." She reminded Stef. Lena had decided to stay for the rest of the summer holidays in order to help Dana sort out all the paperwork and just to be of some support to her mother. They would return in time for school in the fall.

"Take Care." Stef said, giving Lena a friendly kiss on the cheek before picking up her bag and walking out the door.


	18. Chapter 18

_**~One Month Later~**_

"She won't listen to me." Lena complained to Stef as she helped set the table at Stef's house. Lena and Callie had come back only the day before, a Friday, and school was to start the following Monday. Callie had gone upstairs to her room for a while and Stef and Lena were alone until dinner was ready. "If she just moves to San Diego then I can help support her and she won't have to work herself into the ground trying to make ends meet. But no, she wants to continue to rent her apartment a thousand miles away and do it all herself. They are months behind on bills and just managing to scrape through and now even the little that dad was earning is gone, mom is all alone. It just makes sense for her to give up that house and move in with me."

"If it's just some money, I can help out with the rent and stuff." Stef offered as she set a baked dish on a trivet.

But that was enough to infuriate an already stressed out and wired Lena. "Is that your answer to everything, hand out money like it grows on trees?" She questioned rhetorically before answering herself. "Of course it is, because in your world it does grow on trees. Well let me tell you that in the real world things don't work like that. We have to earn every penny we own and we don't just take handouts." She bellowed angrily. Her blood was boiling and her breathing was shallow and rapid as she stared at Stef, daring her to contradict her.

But Stef remained silent, opting instead to give Lena the benefit of the doubt for she was tired, stressed and still shaken by her father's sudden passing.

"She has sixteen orders to finish by the end of next month. She's never taken more than four or five at a time and she's never going to be able to finish all of them on time. Even if someone else helps her with the mending and the simpler jobs, sixteen brand new dresses from scratch is ridiculous." Lena continued once that bubble of anger had settled. "And dad clearly wasn't doing well at work either. Apparently more and more people are just buying new things instead of trying to repair what's broken."

"I'm sure things are tight right now and she'll have to figure some things out but she's a grown woman Lena, I'm sure she knows what she can handle." Stef tried to reason.

"It's not that simple." Lena replied, frustrated that Stef didn't seem to understand just how important this was to her. "It's because of me that they're in this mess. They helped me out so much when I first decided to foster Callie and then over the years as well, especially with medical needs that the state wouldn't provide and they gave me a huge chunk for the lawyer for the adoption and the custody battle. I know they don't regret any of it and neither do I but now it's my turn to give something back."

Stef finally understood why Lena was pushing so hard but she still understood Dana's perspective and she couldn't fault the older woman for not wanting to uproot her entire life, especially right now.

"Lena that's her home." Stef tried to explain as gently as she could. Yes, Dana had lost her husband and was grieving but Lena had lost her father and was grieving as well. "Her life is in Kansas; her friends are there, her husband was there and all her memories are there." Stef took a step towards Lena and nudged her onto a school at the kitchen table and then took a seat beside her. "She's in her seventies and she just lost her husband and it's not fair to uproot her now She needs time to adjust to a life without him and she deserves to do it in her own home."

"I lost my dad too." Lena argued though with very little energy.

"I know." Stef agreed sympathetically. "But they lived their whole lives out there and she needs to stay. I know he's physically gone but he's still present in her home and in the places they went to together. It's not easy to just up and leave it all behind when she can't bring him with her."

"So I'm just supposed to let her fend for herself?" Lena asked in resignation for she couldn't accept that answer. "Right now the neighbors are all there and supportive but eventually they will go back to their lives and she'll be all alone again. The bills will keep piling up and they could just barely make ends meet with both their salaries, there's no way she can manage on just hers and I can only help so much. I don't exactly have a giant income either and I have to rebuild my own savings for Callie's sake." She quickly put a hand up before even taking a breath. "And before you start, I know you're there for Callie but my mother isn't Callie and neither am I so we can't take your money; it's not right."

Stef remained silent and let Lena go on for there wasn't much else she could offer. She could buy the house and allow Dana to live in it, she could hire her some help with the sewing work or about a hundred other ways like that but in the end it all came down to the money.

"If she just moved here with me there would only be one rent to pay; my house is bigger than hers so we could make it work. She could work at home and take on simpler jobs for extra cash and eventually maybe find something with even more space. Everything would be so much easier." Lena believed.

"On you." Stef pointed out. "It would be easier on you but not on her. Your life is here but her's isn't."

Once again Lena became angry for she didn't see why Stef couldn't just support her even once. "So would you rather I took Callie and moved to Kansas?" Lena shot back, knowing that Stef would hate to be so far away from her daughter now that she'd finally gotten her back.

"Of course I wouldn't." Stef said but she knew that if that was what Lena finally decided then there was nothing she could do about it.

"You just don't understand Stef." Lena said, knowing that moving Callie anywhere wasn't an option. The girl had had a rollercoaster of a life for too many years and had finally found a place that she called home and uprooting her now wouldn't be right.

"I'm trying." Stef replied with a sigh.

"No, you're not. You're not being helpful." Lena argued.

"Why?" Stef questioned. "Because I'm disagreeing with you? Lena, I already made a suggestion that makes the most sense - I can help out and you can pay me back if you aren't comfortable taking the money. I know you don't like the idea but it's the best I've got. If you go to a bank they will charge you an arm and a leg in interest and there will be a term in which you will have to pay it back but with me you can work it out as you go along. I'm not in any hurry for the money and you aren't going anywhere. So what if I help her with the rent, is that really so bad?" She argued, slightly frustrated that Lena wouldn't see things her way either.

"I can't take any more money from you Stef." Lena said miserably. "I feel so ashamed asking you for anything in the first place. I did it for Callie because of your history with her but I can't do that for my mother." Lena gritted her teeth as she recalled Stef's face when Lena told her that even after paying for Callie's medical expenses she was still not allowed to see the girl. If she could go back and change things she would but at the time she didn't know that Callie would be so receptive of Stef's return and her main focus had been her daughter's wellbeing. "Maybe if she moved into a smaller apartment, I could still help her with the rent." Lena thought out loud to herself.

"It still wouldn't be her home." Stef said softly, saving Lena from struggling with a new idea that still wouldn't work.

"Fine, then _I'll_ move to a smaller apartment." Lena suggested with a sag of her shoulders as she realized that moving Dana _anywhere_ wasn't going to be an option. "We can manage in a smaller place for a while."

"You could move in with me." Stef blurted out as the thought suddenly struck her.

Lena looked at Stef in resignation. Once again Stef was coming up with suggestions that just weren't acceptable and Lena was getting tired of it.

"Think about it." Stef said, before Lena could turn the offer down without even hearing it through. "I have plenty of room and it's just me living there. You can have the guest room and your mom can come and visit whenever she wants to. Callie already has her own room has spent a fair amount of time there, even spent a few nights and she already considers it her home. She would be getting a bigger house with a yard instead of a smaller one. She's fourteen and she needs her own space and it wouldn't be fair to take her privacy away from her. It would be like I was renting two rooms to you guys and even at market value the rent on two rooms would be less than even a one bedroom apartment." The idea seemed to be perfect in Stef's mind and she could see Lena considering it but the woman still had her pride and Stef was afraid that it would be enough to dismiss this plan. "The kitchen and living room would be common but in exchange you can help with the meals so I don't have to eat takeout six nights a week." She added, hoping to make it sound a little lighter than a serious business deal.

But that just seemed to have the opposite effect on Lena for instantly she shook her head. "No, I couldn't." She said. "I'll work something else out. I'll start tutoring again and earn some extra cash." She suggested off the top of her head.

With that Stef decided to let it go. There was only so much she could push and suggest but in the end it was up to Lena to take the offer or leave it. Stef would be there if Lena changed her mind or came up with a different suggestion but in the mean time she would just support Lena in whatever decision she made.

"God, what would people think?" Lena practically laughed as she obviously continued to imagine Stef's suggestion in reality.

But Stef just looked away for she didn't care what other people thought - she already loved Callie and Lena more than anything and she would give anything to have a life with them - a real life.


	19. Chapter 19

On Monday morning Callie was nervous about starting school. She'd missed more than a quarter of the year and she was already fairly unfamiliar with this batch of kids since she didn't get to spend much time with them before she become too sick to even bother with school. The only up-side was that she had managed to pass the year simply because it was already her second time round. Tentatively she walked into her homeroom expecting question after question about her heart and the transplant and if she really was okay now but she was pleasantly surprised to find them all gathered in groups chatting about their summers and how they were so bummed that school had started again. Callie got the off-handed 'how was your summer' and 'did you go anywhere?' But besides a few closer friends asking after her health in general and sympathized over the loss of her grandfather she was just one of the crowd and she realized that Lena had the right idea in keeping her home until the new school year. It also helped that this time round she wasn't made to sit out of gym entirely. She was given a padded vest to wear and had to be cautious and mention any injury or odd feeling to the coach immediately but other than that she was free to try almost everything.

Lena spread the word that she was offering her tutoring services to students falling behind and within two weeks had a fair number of students that kept her busy on weekdays from four-thirty to six-thirty and part of the weekends as well. She was a good teacher with a lot of patience and kids did well with her and while there was a lot more awareness about children with different learning abilities, the system was still not fine-tuned for them and having some extra help really gave them the boost that they needed and it gave Lena an extra income that wasn't nearly enough but at least it was a start.

Callie, doing much better now, had started walking home by herself after school and was even allowed to hang out with her friends with several strict warnings - she had to be home by six-thirty when Lena got home, she couldn't do anything reckless especially if it could risk her health in any way and she couldn't do anything illegal which was pretty much a standard rule for all the kids. Stef had also added one more rule, with Lena's permission - Callie had to tell them where they were going, just to be safe. But still, this new-found freedom did wonders for Callie and she finally began living again though she was careful to stick to her rules, both because she didn't want to lose the privilege but more because she remember how terrifying and worrying it had been to risk her life.

During this time Stef had also moved a lot further with starting up the new branch of Foster and Scott and even had some clients lined up. For now it was just cases to be settled out of court but they were building their name and a standing in San Diego which was a huge step in the right direction.

Three weeks into school things seemed to be going well for all three of them and things had settled into a routine. They still met regularly for meals or outings and Callie spent more and more time with Stef and they were all becoming more comfortable with each other.

The first weekend of September was a three day weekend with Monday being a holiday for Labor Day and so Lena decided to visit Dana just to check on things. Her worry about her mother had only increased since they had returned although Dana constantly assured her that things were fine. Callie was going to stay with Stef for the weekend while Lena spent some time alone with her mother, gave her some extra money and double checked that everything was back in order and maybe once again suggest that Dana move to San Diego with her.

* * *

When Callie entered Stef's house on Friday evening with her bag packed for the weekend she did it with a level of comfort that warmed Stef's heart. The girl had spent a few nights at her house sometimes when she'd had particularly bad days and was too tired to go back home with Lena but each of those times Lena had stayed in the guest room. Today Callie just marched up to her room like she owned the place stating that she and Stef were going to order takeout and watch Stef's favorite romance movies that Callie had also taken a liking to.

"Thanks for doing this." Lena said as she watched Callie disappear up the stairs.

"Of course." Stef smiled. "Let me know if I can help in any way. I can still drive you to the airport if you need."

"No." Lena turned her down. "I'll go home and park my car and then call a cab, you've done enough already."

Stef nodded, accepting Lena's choice. "Callie will be fine. Have a safe trip."

"Thanks." Lena said before calling out to Callie. "I'm leaving Callie, see you on Sunday honey."

"Bye." Callie called from upstairs, obviously already distracted by something else.

* * *

Through the evening Stef watched Callie and often found herself close to tears. First the girl knew her way around Stef's kitchen like it was her own - she pulled out bowls and cutlery for their Chinese takeout and even poured them each their favorite drinks without having to ask - a Dr. Pepper for Stef and a Seven Up for herself.

"So what are we watching tonight?" Callie asked, plopping down on the couch and grabbing an egg roll from a carton.

"Dirty Dancing." Stef replied as she started the movie. "Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey." She tossed Callie the DVD case to have a look at as dancing couples filled the screen.

The movie began to play and the two watched as they ate their Chinese and by the time all the food was gone they had just finished the part where Jake Houseman, Baby's father saves Penny's life after the abortion and was ordering Baby not to have anything to do with Johnny or any of his friends ever again.

"Is that what your dad is like?" Callie suddenly spoke up. She waited for Stef to look at her and focus on her before clarifying. "Give orders without even giving you a chance to explain?" She was curious about Stef's family and what her childhood had really been like.

Stef was stumbling over her words for she wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't really giving much thought to it and she definitely hadn't expected Callie to question her like this. The only conversation they ever had about Stef's family and Callie's father had been when Lena was around and Callie had seemed to need Lena's presence in order to ask the questions.

"Sort of, I guess." Stef finally answered as she tried to find similarities and differences between Frank Foster and Jake Houseman. "He had expectations and he expected everyone to live up to them. There wasn't much room for error and definitely not public ones."

Callie nodded as she considered what Stef was saying. Callie wasn't a little girl anymore and she was understanding more and more of what Stef had gone through as a child. No, she wasn't pregnant herself and she had a wonderful family but she was a teenager trying to find where she fit in in the world. She was growing up but not a grown up but at the same time she wasn't a child anymore and it wasn't the most comfortable of places to be. It was sort of like limbo and having absolutely no one on your side and to go through something as major as having and giving away a baby was almost unimaginable.

Callie twitched uncomfortably as she considered whether or not to ask her next question. "Did he, ever, even ask you what you wanted, when you were having me?" She asked, biting her lip as she waited for Stef to react - either with an answer or a refusal to answer such questions.

"No." Stef answered with a sad shake of her head. "But, I didn't expect him to." She said truthfully. She watched Callie closely and could see the girl struggle with that answer.

"I used to dream of parents when I was younger." Callie explained. "I imagined a mom that baked and a kitchen that smelled like heaven and a dad that would teach me to swim and bedtime stories and picnics and stuff like that. Obviously a lot of that came from movies and stories but I had no parents and that's what I imagined it would have been like to have them." Once again she paused as she tried to consider how to word what she was thinking. "I don't know what's worse - no parents or bad parents." She finally said for she couldn't figure out what exactly she was feeling.

"Well, my parents weren't _bad_." Stef clarified. "They never hit and they gave me almost everything that money could buy." She said but realized just how that sounded. "I mean, I had the best education, I got to travel and see the most wonderful places and I was always warm and fed and I learned to ski and swim and drive and I never had to wonder where I would sleep at night or anything like that. When I wanted to go to law school they were very proud of me just like when I graduated valedictorian of my class. I got a Mercedes for my sixteenth birthday and they never forgot a special occasion or missed a school event. They just expected me to be like them and when things didn't work out that way they tried to fix it for me I guess."

Callie nodded as she tried to picture Frank and Sharon Foster. Everything she knew about them just confused her. How could people that have everything a person could imagine claim to love a child and yet be so blind and heartless to their feelings and opinions.

As Stef watched Callie she realized that there was more that Callie was thinking than just what she'd asked for there was a pained expression on her face that seemed almost personal. She realized that perhaps Callie had been thinking about this long before the character of Jake Houseman interred her world.

"What are you thinking?" Stef finally asked gently. "Where is all this coming from?"

Callie looked up at Stef and sighed heavily. "I was just wondering if they ever thought about me or wanted to meet me or anything." Callie finally asked softly.

Stef felt her heart break as she watched the young girl who seemed to feel so rejected by people she had never even met.

"I mean, my grandpa died and I hardly knew him and now I won't get a chance to even though I wish I could but your parents have known about me my whole life so didn't they ever feel that way?" She asked sadly.

Stef felt like crying as she wondered the same thing but the truth was that she didn't think so for not once had they ever shown any interest in their granddaughter. There had been several opportunities but each and every time Frank had made it clear that the child was nothing but a major scandal that was best left in the past.

"Callie, I can't change the way that my father feels. I know he is your family too but sweetheart family isn't always is great support system - at least not the one that you're born into. Families come in all shapes and sizes and very often you have to make your own as you go along and those are the people that count. You've heard of the saying _Blood is thicker than water_ , yes?" She asked and waited for Callie to nod. "But did you know that it doesn't actually mean that family is more important than friends?"

Callie frowned and shook her head for that's basically exactly what she'd always thought it meant as did almost everyone she knew.

"It was actually a saying in the war." Stef explained and it meant that the friendships and bonds you make on the battlefield where you truly shed blood for each other are much stronger than that of the water of the womb from where you are born. The people you give your heart to and those who give you their heart matter much more than the person or people that gave you life. You don't get to choose your family and parents don't get to choose their kids, in the natural sense, but who you love and how you treat them is in your hands."

"I didn't know that." Callie said, surprised by how ironic it was that the saying that was so commonly used was actually the complete opposite of what it truly meant.

"When I first met you Lena meant so much more to you than I did." Stef reminded the young girl. "That's because you loved her and hated me. You didn't care that I was your biological mother and she hadn't even adopted you yet."

"She was my mom." Callie shrugged for it was just as simple as that.

"And Stewart is your grandfather." Stef stated. "I do love my father." She said honestly. "But he's not your grandfather." She added but then gave the girl's hand a supportive squeeze. "And you are better off for it."


	20. Chapter 20

"She wouldn't even take the money" Lena said to Stef one evening. Callie had been invited to a friend's house for the evening and so Lena had invited Stef over for a proper meal instead of the takeout she was bound to order since was alone. "She was being so stubborn." She said as she recalled the conversation with her mother.

 _"It's just to help you out." Lena said, holding out an envelope of a few hundred dollars to her mother._

 _"I don't need it Lena." Dana said, refusing to even look at it._

 _"Mom, you haven't paid rent in three months." Lena pointed out. She had returned to Kansas to find that things hadn't really settled down for her mother and that she was struggling more than ever now. "You won't even consider moving in with me so let me help you with the rent here."_

 _"No." Dana said firmly._

 _"Why not?" Lena asked in irritation. "You helped me when I got Callie and needed to upgrade my house so why can't I help you now?"_

 _"Because I'm the mother." Dana said stubbornly._

 _"So what?" Lena asked angrily. "Is that so bad, to let your daughter help? You helped grandma when she got cancer." She pointed out remembering her sick grandmother living with them right before she died. I was only five but I could see she needed us. Mom, I get that you don't want to move away okay, Stef explained it to me but you have to let me help you as much as I can." Lena argued. "You are my mother and I don't like to see you struggle, not when there is something I can do about it."_

 _But Dana had stopped listening for she was only focused on the fact that Lena had mentioned Stef in such a casual and nonchalant way like one would mention the opinions of a spouse or significant other and she hoped like hell that her daughter and her granddaughter's biological mother were headed in that direction._

 _"Alright." Dana finally agreed. "I appreciate your help but promise me that you are still rebuilding your savings." She said warningly. "Callie may be better but there is no guarantee that she will be healthy the rest of her life and you couldn't take that kind of a risk._

 _"I promise." Lena said with a relieved smile. "Thank you, it makes me feel so much better."_

"So what happened?" Stef asked as she helped Lena set the table.

"I don't know." Lena replied with a frown. "She just changed her mind. I guess she realized that just because she's my mother doesn't mean that I can't help her."

"Well, I hope you feel a little at ease now." Stef said, knowing how worried Lena had been about her mother.

"I am." Lena smiled "I mean, I wish she would move here but I get why she won't. I just want to do whatever I can for her. They have done so much for me and now it's my turn to look after her."

"And I'm sure she appreciates the effort and the help." Stef assured as they sat down to a simple meal of grilled fish and mashed potatoes.

The two continued to talk about several things like Callie, Lena's tutoring and Stef's progress at the company's expansion. There was no longer any tension whenever these two were together either with or without their daughter. They shared opinions and disagreed but even encouraged and supported each other in the choices that they made and they were comfortable doing so. Callie was doing very well medically and had passed both her last check ups with flying colors and now her only focus was school, friends and fun - just the way that it should be for a girl her age. Boys weren't really a thing for her just yet for she was still trying to find a rhythm to her own life but both women were okay with that; in fact, they were relishing every moment that their daughter stayed a little girl.

* * *

As Stef watched Lena through the rest of the fall she couldn't help but feel that she was just as stubborn as Lena had claimed that Dana was. She had taken on more jobs than she could keep track of. She tutored kids after school each day and on Saturdays she took up a guest lecturing class at the community college and tutored for part of Sunday as well. And due to all of this she was waking up earlier and going to bed later just so she could finish her own corrections and lesson plans. Thankfully she kept most of Sunday free to spend time with Callie not that the girl minded much for she was very happy to spend weekday early evenings with her friends at the mall or someone's house - after all she was a fifteen year old now. Stef had casually reminded Lena of the joint account that still held a large amount for Lena's expenses but Lena shut that conversation down faster than Stef could even finish the sentence but Lena was still wearing herself thin trying to rebuilt her own savings as well as trying to collect a reasonable sum for Dana.

"Aaachooo." Lena sneezed just as Stef opened the front door to her so she could pick Callie up. "Sorry." Lena apologized as she wiped her drippy nose on a tissue.

"Still got the cold?" Stef asked as she invited Lena in and shook her head at how tired and frazzled Lena looked.

"Yeah." Lena said tiredly as Callie came down the stairs with her backpack over her shoulder. "Homework done?" She asked her daughter who had spent the later part of the evening with Stef since Lena had taken on an extra tutoring class for a kid with a test coming up.

"Yup." Callie nodded as she gave Stef a hug and kiss goodbye. "What's for dinner? I'm starving."

"Oh God." Lena sighed, realizing that she forgot all about dinner since she was so tired and dreamed of just crashing into her bed and sleeping for a couple of hundred years. "We'll just order in again tonight." She finally said as she turned to Stef to thank her for keeping Callie for her, not that the older woman ever had a problem spending some extra time with the girl she loved so dearly.

Stef watched the scene in front of her and decided that she wasn't going to just stand back and watch this any longer. Yes, Lena wanted to help her mother and she wanted to rebuild her savings but not at the expense of her own health. "You know what, you guys are staying here tonight." Stef said, her voice more commanding than suggestive. "Callie, go put your stuff back upstairs and get ready for dinner, you two are staying here tonight. I'll make us some spaghetti and open a jar of sauce."

Callie did as she was told like it was absolutely no big deal as Lena just stared at Stef wondering what she was doing.

"Stef…" Lena began to protest but Stef just stopped her by walking away towards the kitchen to start dinner.

"You're half way to dead Lena." Stef said as she descended the three steps to the kitchen. "You need to take it easy for everyones sake and never mind Callie but even you need something better than takeout if you plan to get over this cold."

"It's just a bug." Lena defended but followed the woman in more than anything because she just wanted to sit down. "It'll pass.

"Lena, you've been sick for two weeks now." Stef argued as she pulled out a stool for Lena and put a banana in front of her to get something into her before she crashed completely. "Have a seat." She ordered as she caught her arm to help her but instantly frowned and reached out to touch her forehead. "You're boiling." She complained.

"I know." Lena said, grateful to get off her aching her feet. "I've taken some ibuprofen but it isn't working anymore." She admitted with not enough energy to even argue.

"Why are you doing this Lena?" Stef asked in frustration. "Why are you being so stubborn? Is it just your pride that won't let you stay here? There's plenty of room and you can pay rent on it if it makes you happy but it makes so much sense Lena why won't you even consider it?"

The conversation stopped when Callie made an appearance and she and Stef got busy getting dinner ready while Lena lay her head down on the table and closed her eyes for however long she could. Her entire body hurt, her head felt heavy and she had spent ten minutes in the school staff restroom crying of exhaustion but she would never admit that to anyone.

* * *

"Please, just think about it and I mean really consider it." Stef said as she pulled down the guest bed so that Lena could get in. The younger woman was dressed in a pair of Stef's sweat pants and a Yale hoodie and she felt more comfortable in that outfit than she had in so many days and now she was looking forward to just climbing into the massive guest bed and giving her body some much needed rest.

"Just wake me if you need anything." Stef said as she watched Lena get into the bed and then reached out and turned off the lights for her. "Please, don't hesitate, just come and wake me."

Lena nodded gratefully as Stef left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so that she could hear Lena if she called out. Callie was already in her room for the night and so Stef headed to her own bedroom wondering what she could possible do to help Lena a bit more.

* * *

Lena and Callie stayed over at Stef's for the next two days while Lena recovered. Lena had had to call in sick at work and Stef tried her hand at making some chicken soup while Lena sat at the kitchen table and gave her instructions and tips on how to make it. Stef helped Lena with corrections on her kids English papers and Lena helped Stef do a little research on a case they were hoping to settle out of court. Stef helped Callie with her homework while Lena cooked them dinner on the second night. She was feeling a whole lot better and realized that living here hadn't been so bad after all.

"I can pay rent?" Lena blurted out while Stef was quizzing Callie on some Historic dates.

Stef looked up in surprise for while she had urged Lena to reconsider the offer she never expected the woman to actually take her up on it.

"Yes." Stef said, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea of them actually, finally moving in. "I promise."

"No handouts, no reductions." Lena clarified. Stef may have the room and all the money in the world but Lena wasn't about to take another dime from her when she didn't have to.

"Whatever I would have charged a stranger off the street." Stef promised.

"And there have to be rules." Lena stated, almost as though she was the one doing Stef a huge favor.

"Okay, what?" Stef asked skeptically. She had no idea what Lena had in mind but she was admittedly a little nervous about it.

"I don't know." Lena replied with a frown wondering how this was all actually going to work out. It seemed great in theory but would it really work when it was applied in real life. "We'll have to figure it out."

Stef once again nodded in agreement but her mind was still focused on what Lena might have in mind in the way of rules - was she talking about schedules, rental agreements or something entirely different like perhaps dating or guests. She didn't know but one thing she was sure of was that there was no one else she would be bringing home for there was only one person that she wanted and she was the one person she would probably never have.

"So… we're moving in?" Callie asked, pulling Stef out of her thoughts.

Both Stef and Callie waited for Lena's response and Lena was looking at Stef, trying to judge if this was a good idea or not. The truth was that she needed to cut down on her rent and this was a perfect solution. Callie was happy here and spent time with Stef after school some days anyway. It gave the girl some stability and there was much more room for her as well.

"Yes." Lena finally said and Stef couldn't help but smile for she was more than happy to have her two favorite people finally moving in with her.

"Cool." Callie smiled too. "I love this house." She said with a huge grin before turning to Stef. "Can we build a pool?" She tried her luck.

"NO!" Both Stef and Lena said at the same time making Callie laugh.

"Can I have some friends over at least?" She asked, biting her lower lip for this question was a serous one and she hoped the answer would be yes.

"Of course." Stef said with a nod. "It's your house too love."

Callie was thrilled as she got up to grab her phone to text her friends, telling them about her upcoming move while Stef and Lena sat at the table looking awkwardly at each other wondering how exactly this would play out.


	21. Chapter 21

Lena stretched her neck and massaged her own aching muscles as she listened to the phone ring and waited for her mother to answer. It had been a week since they decided to move in with Stef and the paperwork had been drawn up for while Stef was happy to keep it a casual, flexible agreement but Lena had insisted on a concrete, legal arrangement and even did some research of her own on the rent that Stef was fairly due. Her rent ended up being only a few hundred dollars less per month but still, it was a few extra hundred that would go into her savings. Now, the papers had been signed and Lena was due to vacate her own apartment at the end of December, just under two months away and it was time to inform her mother of the upcoming change.

"Hello dear, this is a surprise." Dana said as she answered the phone. It was not yet lunch time in California so Lena should hav been at work but little did Dana know that she had taken a day off today in order to get the rent agreement drawn up and signed.

"Hi mom." Lena smiled. "How are you? How is Lisa's dress coming along?" She questioned politely.

The two spent a few minutes on smalltalk as they caught up on each others lives and then Lena finally got down to the real reason for the phone call.

"So, I just called to let you know that Callie and I are moving houses at the end of the month." Lena began.

Dana was instantly worried at the statement. Lena had been sending her three hundred dollars each month for the last four months and that was bound to be a struggle for the young woman. The money definitely did help Dana and she was able to take on only the number of jobs that she could actually handle without the risk of being evicted but she didn't want her family to have to pay the price. "Lena, if you need to stop sending me the money please don't…"

But Lena cut her off. "No mom." Lena shook her head though her mother couldn't see her through the phone. "We are actually moving to a bigger place." She offered, hoping not to scare her mother into refusing the money again.

"Bigger." Dana said in surprise though she was still worried for she knew that Lena would do anything to help her.

"We are moving in with Stef." Lena finally told her and waited nervously for a response.

Dana's face instantly broke into a wide grin as she hoped that her dream for the small family was finally coming true. She had always known that her daughter was gay and she had never batted an eye about it. She even had an idea that the woman had feelings for Callie's biological mother that had absolutely nothing to do with Callie and while Dana couldn't be certain about Stef's sexual preference or her choice in partners she was willing to bet that the feelings were mutual. Stef had proven to be an honest and worthy woman and Dana would be proud to call her her daughter-in-law. Yes, she would have been uncomfortable taking anything from her even as a loan but she had absolutely no objections to the three of them forming a family and taking care of each other through the ups and downs of life.

"That's wonderful honey." Dana said cheerfully for she didn't realize that her assumptions were far off base.

"It is?" Lena asked in confusion. She was certain her mother would have encouraged her to keep her independence but Dana seemed happier with this plan than anything.

"Well yes." Dana replied. "Stef is a lovely girl and I'm so happy for you both." She said, still imagining her own little happily-ever-after.

"Thank you." Lena said, still frowning slightly. "Anyway, my lease is up at the end of the year and I've already signed the rent agreement with Stef so Callie and I move in in January. The rent is lower because it's only two rooms but I still save nearly four hundred dollars a month. The space is much bigger and Callie already loves it there and there's someone to help keep an eye on her. She isn't charging rent on the common spaces but I'm in charge of meals and I was doing that at home anyway and she will find a way to burn water if she's left alone in the kitchen too long so it works for everyone."

"Oh." Dana said somewhat disappointedly as she finally began to realize what Lena had meant. She was trying hard to find something supportive to say but she couldn't think fast enough for she was worried about why Lena was making this move if it wasn't for personal reasons.

But luckily she didn't have to think long for Lena began to try and ease her nerves. "Don't worry okay mom. It's going to be fine." Lena said positively. "This really does help us all. I can save more and Callie has an extra parent and Stef loves any extra time with Callie that she can get. She's not looking to take anything from us; she's just going to help."

"Okay." Dana agreed though she wasn't entirely thrilled. She had no doubt that Stef had the best of intentions but she just couldn't understand why she and her daughter couldn't form some sort of a more serious bond. The only silver lining to this entire situation was that they were at least being nudged into the right direction. Now, it was either a make it or break it situation and maybe they would find out if they truly belonged together or not.

* * *

"Just go for it." Max said with a shake of his head. Stef had flown up to San Fransisco to assist Max in court and after a long week of witnesses, expert opinions and arguing they had finally won and were out to a simple celebratory lunch of soups and sandwiches at a deli around the corner from the court house. "You're going to be living together for Christ's sake."

"I can't just kiss her Max." Stef said, taking a bite of her tuna salad sandwich. "She only sees me a close family friend or something. We have a god-damn rent agreement for crying out loud."

"Ever heard of saying NO?" Max questioned, also biting into his beef burger.

"To what?" Stef asked. "I wanted them to move in, she was running herself into the ground. Yes, I love her but I'm okay with giving her what she needs and I get to spend so much more time with Callie."

"And what happens when you disagree about a parenting decision, huh?" Max questioned, wiping some mayonnaise off his lip on his napkin.

"It's not my call." Stef said honestly. "I'm just the landlord."

"Uh huh." Max nodded though he wasn't even remotely falling for Stef's answer.

"Look, we've got some kinks to work out but this works out for everyone." Stef tried to convince him yet again but she wasn't sure she could even convince herself for she wanted nothing more than to live with Lena and Callie as her family not her tenants.

"It's your _kinks_ I'm trying to convince you _to_ work on." Max teased mischievously at Stef's choice of words.

Stef shot him a disapproving look before kicking him playfully under the table. "You know, maybe you should focus more on your own love life before spending so much time advising me about mine."

"You know what they say…" Max instantly responded with a casual shrug. "Those who can't do, teach."

Stef laughed in good humor as she watched Max and she realized that despite all they had been though over the years and the obvious feelings Max had harbored for Stef since they first met they had still managed to maintain a friendship that few could compete with and for that Stef was immensely grateful.


	22. Chapter 22

"God, I remember having to wear this everyday." Callie said as she pulled out her old medical bracelet from a box in the corner of Lena's closet. "I hated it."

"That was one of the first things I noticed about you." Lena said, taking the bracelet from her daughter's hand and looking at it. It was a simple bracelet with Callie's name, her condition just in case she was ever unable to speak for herself. Once she had found some stability in Lena's home she was finally allowed to take it off. "You looked so tiny, I thought you might have been a second grader."

"I remember you sitting on the playground with me." Callie said, thinking back to that first day - the one that would change her life forever, though she didn't know it at the time.

"I had never met a kid that wasn't allowed to play before." Lena replied. "And you weren't even upset about it. You said it like someone would say they were allergic to a cat or something."

"After you get rushed to the hospital for climbing up stairs too fast, you kinda lose the thrill of doing too much." Callie replied as she once again dug through a box to look for something else.

Lena and Callie had been sorting though all their stuff over the weekend, deciding what they wanted to take to Stef's and what they really didn't need anymore. Eventually they would have to pack it all up into boxes for the move but for now they were just sorting and remembering.

* * *

"Look at this." Lena said smiling at a hand-made card that Callie had given Lena for Mother's Day their first May together, just a month after Lena had asked Callie if she could adopt her.

"You kept it?" Callie asked in surprise as she too took the construction paper card her ten-year-old self had made and opened it along the fold that was now firmly pressed closed.

"Of course." Lena smiled, playing lovingly with end of Callie's hair. "That was my very first mother's day card.

"I wanted to get you a present but I didn't have the money." Callie remembered. "Perfume." She recalled. "I thought that would be the most glamorous gift."

Lena smiled. "This card was absolutely perfect." She said and once again took the card back to have a look at it. On the front, in crayon, there was a vase with several beautiful, perfect flowers. But when you opened up the card there was one single flower with a few petals fallen off and beside it were the words that Callie had written in red - _Thanks for picking me anyway. Happy Mother's Day, Love Callie._

Lena had cried for several nights after that wondering how it was that for ten years this beautiful little girl had been overlooked. She had cherished that card for no one had ever given her something so meaningful and heartfelt as that.

* * *

"My book project." Callie once again called out as she pulled out another sheet and looked at it. "My very first 'A' ever." She smiled proudly.

"You worked so hard on that." Lena said as she remembered Callie reading night after night trying to finish her project. The assignment had been to read three different books of completely different storylines and themes and then explain how each book resembled her own life and how what she'd learned from each of them would help shape her from then on. Callie had insisted on The Little Mermaidas one of her books, her second had been _Number The Stars_ and the third had been T _o Kill a Mockingbird._ Each book had a significance to it. _Number The Stars_ was a book that Lena had been teaching her class when Callie first met her about a girl, and a nation, that bent over backwards to fight for a community that was being terrorized and torn at the hands of the Nazi's. _The Little Mermaid_ was Callie's favorite book for she often dreamed of becoming a mermaid and swimming away to another world and _To Kill A Mockingbird_ had been Lena's favorite book and Lena had told her the story of a father who, against popular belief, taught his children the meaning for humanity and what it meant to be humane.

"I liked that assignment." Callie said. "I liked that there were no right or wrong answers."

"You also enjoyed the assignment that Karen had you do before your surgery." Lena observed.

"I guess I liked that my opinion mattered." Callie answered. "I like trying to find the good in things even when they aren't so good."

"That's a very good quality to have." Lena said to her daughter. "Not everyone sees the good in things and even fewer bother to look."

* * *

"Is this your Yearbook?" Callie asked excitedly as she began flipping though the pages of the Blue Valley High School Book. "Where are you?" She asked.

Lena took the book from Callie and flipped it closed, looking for the year. "Two thousand and five…" She read, calculating what grade she was in that year. "I was a sophomore." She said and began flipping to the appropriate page and then passed the book to Callie.

Callie searched the class photograph and then began laughing uncontrollably. There, in the front row, third from the left sat Lena with her wild, frizzy hair all over the place, braces on her teeth and zits all over her face. "Wow you were a dweeb." She exclaimed.

Lena rolled her eyes as she took the book back to have a look at it herself. Yes, she was what the kids considered unpopular but she had her own friends and she knew what she wanted from life. They hadn't had a lot of money so she didn't have the latest clothes or go for all the newest movies. She often wore the same clothes for two and three years, carried the same backpack right through high school and spent a lot of her free time reading or writing but she'd been happy and content with her life and in her eyes that was the most important.

"We all go through a phase where we feel we aren't accepted for who we are." Lena pointed out to Callie, remembering how Callie had tried so hard to fit in just two years ago. "It's part of growing up."

"Stef said that to me once." Callie told Lena. "After the smoking thing, she told me I didn't have to be just like everyone else in order to be popular; that it was okay to just be _me._ "

Lena nodded in agreement. "Honey, we all struggle with finding a place we fit in whether it's because we move to a new school or home or because our friends change or we don't have the kind of money and freedom that others have or because a medical condition might hold us back. Whatever the case, everyone just wants to be liked and accepted by the people around them and one thing I've learned is that the the best way to get people to like you is to just be a good, kind, caring person and that is more than enough."

"What was it like growing up with so little?" Callie asked her mother. She had heard about Stef's wealth mostly because of the argument on who would be a better parent to Callie but she never knew about Lena's childhood and she was always afraid it was too impolite to ask.

"It didn't really bother me." Lena answered honestly. "I was never much of a wild kid, I didn't party, I didn't hang out with the other kids on a daily basis. I liked spending time by myself so I didn't really feel like I was missing out. I know my friends went to movies and shopped a lot more then I ever could but I was okay with it." But Lena realized that she was only describing the good stuff and even she hadn't been exempt from the torture of trying to fit in. "My weakness was my hair." She continued as Callie listened curiously. "I hated my hair and no matter what I did with it, I still looked like I'd stuck my finger in a socket and kids kept teasing me about it and I would watch all the white girls with their silky straight hair and wish that I could afford the straighteners and frizz-ease stuff so that I could have hair like that but we just didn't have the money for it."

"Were you ever like, hungry, or something, because you couldn't afford stuff?" Callie asked, feeling bad for Lena. Even she, who never had parents till she was ten years old had never gone hungry.

Lena laughed at Callie's concern. "No." She assured her daughter. "We weren't very well off but we weren't poor by any standards. I suppose my parents could have afforded a straightener if I asked them but I knew it would have been tight and they were saving for college for me which I knew was more important - that was going to be my ticket to a better life for myself and my family. It's why I want to help grandma so much because they worked so hard to give me the education that I wanted so much."

"I think it's nice." Callie smiled. "I like that we can help grandma and maybe one day I'll be able to help you for all that you have done for me."

"You just worry about being the best that you can me. That is more than enough for me." Lena ordered as she closed the year book and set it aside.

Callie began rummaging thought the box again but under her breath she playfully muttered, "You're gonna give me as hard a time as grandma gave you, aren't you?"


	23. Chapter 23

"Okay, that's the last one." Lena said tiredly as she pulled out the last box from the small flatbed truck they had rented. "Time to get it all upstairs." She said just as Stef dumped a particularly heavy one down on the front porch.

"Okay." She huffed and wiped the sweat off her forehead on the sleeve of her t-shirt. "Lead the way." She instructed and watched Lena head inside and begin up the steps as she once again lifted the heavy box filled with books.

"I honestly didn't expect to have this much to move." Lena said, glancing down at the pile of boxes outside the front door just before she headed up too high to see anymore. "I was sure I'd fill it all in two suitcases, a couple of boxes and be done." She added with a laugh at her own foolishness.

"Hah." Stef laughed as well. "Haven't you heard, no matter how much space you have you always manage to run short. You just keep collecting until you need a bigger space and then you just collect more. My parents have a two-thousand square-foot basement and they still complain that they have nowhere to store stuff."

"In a two-thousand square-foot basement I could probably fit everything I've ever owned and then some." Lena said in surprise as she headed towards the guest room.

"My office." Stef instructed as she nudged Lena in the opposite direction to the room she'd cleared out for Lena.

"Why?" Lena asked with a frown.

"That's going to be your room." Stef explained. "It's bigger and brighter and just a better room. The guest room can stay a guest room."

"What about your office?" Lena asked in confusion.

"It's time I found a real office." Stef said with a shrug.

At hearing this Lena let the box in her hand, that held mostly clothes, drop to the floor with a thud as an annoyed look filled her face. "This is why I didn't want to move in with you." She said angrily. "You keep doing things like this without even discussing it with me. We have a written contract and you can't go changing it even if it in my favor."

Stef's shoulders slumped as she too let her box drop to the floor with a much louder thud. "I can't keep working from home Lena. While you were up in Kansas when your dad died Max and I had talked about getting an office and actually start taking on clients here as well. This isn't something we just decided yesterday. We need a place for our new employees to actually work. It just seemed like a good time to get a start on that and you get a better room, so what's wrong with that?" She asked in defeat.

Lena looked skeptically at Stef wondering if she truly believed her or not. The woman had a tendency to go above and beyond when it came to helping them and she didn't want to take advantage of that. But she could see the sincerity on Stef's face and she knew the woman was just trying to do something nice for her.

"If you pull even one more stunt like this, I'll withdraw." Lena said warningly. "We have to keep this fair."

"Okay." Stef agreed with a relieved nod. "I promise. I'm sorry."

Lena accepted the apology and then bent to pick up her box again and head towards the room that Stef had directed her to while Stef copied her actions and followed.

* * *

A week later Lena and Callie were finally completely unpacked and most of their things were put away. Lena's books were stacked on the bookshelf that Stef had left behind in Lena's new room and all Lena's kitchen equipment filled Stef's massive kitchen nicely for the blond woman didn't even own so much as a whisk. A few nicknacks that Lena owned found spots in her room and some around the house as well and all of Callie's stuff went into her room. A few things that they did have multiples of were sold along with some of Lena's old furniture and Callie's outgrown clothes and as a welcome present Stef had given Lena three sets of brand new sheets, towels and a comforter and Callie, whose room had only been recently done up when Stef bought the house was given a bedside lamp that could also be used as a soft, blue nightlight and could also project tiny stars up on the ceiling and both Lena and Callie loved the gesture.

Lena was finally much more relaxed for she was now comfortably able to send Dana money without having to scrounge through her own savings and she didn't have to work the crazy hours that she had been since school had begun four months earlier. She cut down on her tutoring classes and realized that she was actually doing a better job since. Her own school work was no longer being done at odd hours of the morning and she was beginning to feel better too. She was eating better, regained the weight she'd lost and didn't tire as easily.

Callie was also doing very well heath-wise, in school and even socially. She had made quite a few new friends and because she was able to be a lot more like a normal teenager, she didn't feel the need to be reckless in order to fit in. She went shopping with them and hung out with them and for the occasional movie as well. She was invited to birthdays and had a few of her friends over to the house after school twice already and for the first time in her entire life she was beginning to feel like a normal kid - there was no social services, no risk of being packed up and sent to another home and school, no medications, no hospitals and no major diet restrictions. The only thing that set her apart from the crowd was that she had an adoptive mother as well as a biological mother with no legal guardianship but then again there was a kid in her class with two fathers, two kids with single parents and several with divorced parents so really, she was no different from most of them for only a handful actually had what one would consider a traditional family.

Stef was also happy for she too began to feel complete. Having Lena and Callie in the house with her not only made her happy but it also made life a lot easier for all of them. There were now two of them to share the load when it came to Callie. Lena helped Callie with most of her school work but Stef was better at math, a subject that Callie had always struggled with since she had never gotten a good foundation for the basics. Lena took over most of the cooking which was very much needed in Stef's life for her diet mostly consisted of take-out, eating out and the occasional simple meal that she could cook. And Callie and Stef were getting to know each other a lot better and were well past the stage of being just friends. Stef would occasionally dish out rules and warnings to the girl like insisting she finish her green-beans or heading to bed when it was getting late on a school night and Callie was more and more comfortable around Stef. She asked more questions about the woman and her family and even had the courage to ask her if she ever considered having more kids, after all she was only thirty years old and still had her whole life ahead of her. Stef's answer had been simple enough - maybe someday if she found the right person to share her life with but Callie would always be her first born and loved just as much as any other child that Stef may eventually have. Stef and Callie had also reached a point in their relationship where they would not only be there for each other should something happen to Lena but also be comfortable and happy together which was a very big load off Lena's shoulders. It had been the sole reason that Lena ever even allowed Stef into Callie's life I the first place. So things were looking up for all three of them and they were all happy to be together, right up until the day that Callie was brought home in the back of a police car with cuffs around her wrists.


	24. Chapter 24

Stef opened her front door and the very last thing she expected was to see Callie standing there, her hands behind her back, obviously held together by cuffs and two police officers standing to either side, just a step behind her.

"What..?" Stef asked in surprise as one of the officers stepped forward.

"Are you Lena Adams?" The officer asked as Stef stared wide-eyed at Callie.

"No, I'm Stefanie Foster." Stef replied, finally looking at the man speaking to her. "Lena's at a meeting at the school she teaches at." She replied.

"We tried contacting Ms. Adams but we got no response and so Ms. Callie here told us she lived here with her adoptive mother and her biological mother who isn't legally her guardian." The officer explained, obviously not having believed Callie's story and drove her home to get to the bottom of things.

"It's true." Stef explained, still waiting to find out what Callie had actually done. "I am her biological mother and I own the home and they are my tenants.

Both officers were obviously surprised by the story for it did sound very farfetched but they should have known that no one could come up with a story like that at the drop of a hat.

"What did she do?" Stef finally asked, her patience wearing thin.

"Ma'am, Callie was caught shoplifting at the CVS on Washington Street." The senior cop explained.

Stef looked at Callie in utter surprise, unsure of what to say exactly while Callie had her head tilted towards the ground though she did try to sneak a peek at Stef's face after the cop explained the reason for her arrest.

"The store is not pressing charges and so Callie is not in any serious trouble however they did give her a first warning and assured her that if they caught her doing something like this again they would take stricter action." He continued as the other cop began un-cuffing Callie's wrists in order to let her go.

"What did you steel?" Stef asked in utter surprise, trying to catch Callie's eye but as soon as the question was out of Stef's mouth Callie tilted her head even further down and closed her eyes, wishing and hoping that she could just disappear.

It became clear to Stef as well as the cops that Callie wasn't going to answer and the cop softened for he could understand why the teenager girl didn't want to admit to what she'd tried to shoplift, hell he even understood why she'd tried to shoplift it in the first place and he assumed it was the reason the store had only issued Callie a warning this time.

"Condoms ma'am." He answered in order to give Callie the escape from having to do it herself.

Stef's shoulders slumped further as her eyes widened as much as they could. She absolutely wasn't ready for this - Callie having sex, or at least planning on it. Was she even allowed to have sex? Would Lena allow her, would the doctors allow her and would her body allow her?

"We'll leave it to you to take appropriate action ma'am." The officer interrupted Stef's thoughts as he and his partner planned to make an exit.

"Yes, thank you." Stef replied somewhat distractedly. "I'm so sorry and I can assure you that Callie will never do anything like this ever again." She said with a warning tone to the young girl.

A few minutes passed as they waited for the cops to head back to their car and drive away and then Stef turned back to Callie who was still standing with her head down, avoiding eye-contact at all costs.

"Why?" Stef finally asked for she didn't know how else to begin and it was clear that Callie wasn't going to initiate this conversation.

But forget about initiating it, Callie wasn't even willing to be a part of it for she didn't answer Stef, nor did she even acknowledge that Stef had asked her a question.

"Callie, are you having sex?" Stef finally asked the one question that she'd been bursting to ask since she heard the word _condom_.

This time Callie's head snapped up. "No." She said with worried eyes, desperate for Stef to believe her.

"Are you thinking about it? Planning on it?" Stef continued her line of questioning, though she was terrified of the answers.

"No." Callie repeated with just as much sincerity in her voice. "I'm not, I promise. I'm not ready." She assured thinking to herself that after this she doubted she ever would be.

"Then why?" Stef questioned, her tone and determination bordering on her job in the courtroom. "Why would you steal condoms, why would you even need them?" She demanded an answer.

Callie felt intimidated as she looked back at Stef standing ram-rod straight in front of her and staring her in the eye without so much as blinking.

"Why?" Stef questioned again with more force that made Callie jump a little.

"Health Class." Callie finally answered timidly, afraid of not answering at all.

"What about it?" Stef questioned, waiting for more of an explanation.

"Our class is doing a presentation for World Health Day next month and each of us was assigned a topic and I got safe sex." Callie began explaining wondering why she couldn't have been given balanced diet or exercise or natural remedies for minor illnesses; why did she have to pick the one slip that no one wanted.

With a justifiable explanation Stef was able to relax a bit and take a step back, realizing that she may have come across a bit too harsh considering she was talking to a teenager. She sighed and shook her head slightly. "Honey, steeling…" She began, deciding to tackle that part of the topic first.

"I know." Callie quickly cut her off. "I hadn't planned on it." She assured. "It's just, when I went in there this woman walked passed me and all I was doing was looking but she gave me such weird looks that I got embarrassed and couldn't bring myself to take them up to the cash counter." She admitted, the embarrassment she felt still clearly visible on her face. "And they have such weird names - pleasure me and mutual climax." She explained miserably. "They even have eggplant flavor." She added in disgust. "Like, who the hell what's to think of eggplants while…" She stopped abruptly, too uncomfortable to finish that sentence in front of Stef.

By now Stef was genuinely over her anger and surprise and had to hide the smirk she felt coming. Callie was still so young in so many ways and she looked more like thirteen than fifteen so she could understand people judging her for even looking at condoms.

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "So you're not having sex or even thinking about it?" She clarified for good measure.

"No." Callie assured with a vigorous shake of her head.

"Okay." Stef finally accepted. "Well, I'm not sure what you can and cannot do in terms of your heart but you have to promise me something, whenever you feel like the time has come you _have_ to talk to us." She insisted before backtracking a bit. "Anyone you're comfortable with. You can talk to your mom or me or your doctors but you have to be careful. Callie I know it may be embarrassing and awkward but we don't know what your heart can take and we can't take that kind of a risk." Stef continued.

"I know." Callie once again assured her. "I get it and I promise I will when I'm ready." She said, understanding what Stef was saying. "But I'm not ready right now. I mean, come on, I'm not even ready to buy condoms, forget use them." She added lightheartedly.

"Okay." Stef accepted. "But _use them_." She emphasized. " _Always_ use them."

Callie nodded but she could no longer look Stef in the eye for she knew that Stef was speaking from experience but it wasn't just Stef she was talking about, it was _her_ too."

But the ever-observant Stef caught the look and immediately regretted her choice of words. Yes, she definitely stood by them but she did understand how they might have hurt Callie. "Callie having you was amazing and I loved you from the moment I found out about you but if I had the chance to go back and do it right - wait and have a baby when I was ready and could be there for you and give you everything that you deserved then I would wait." She said honestly. "Ever baby deserves that and so to their mothers. Teenagers deserve the chance to be kids and grow up on their own before they become moms because no matter how much you love your baby and how much you sacrifice for them, it's hard and heartbreaking. It's hard enough being a mom when you're married and settled and old enough so please be careful."

"I will, I promise." Callie said. She did understand what Stef meant for she knew she wasn't ready to go though what Stef had. Even if she could keep her baby and had all the support in the world she just wasn't ready to be a mother and she definitely didn't have the heart to give the baby away. Stef was just trying to protect her from the heartache that they had both suffered for so many years.

"Good." Stef smiled gently, hoping that Callie truly believed that she never once regretted having her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Callie smiled sincerely and reached out to give Stef a hug, one that Stef seemed to need more than Callie did in that moment.

"Okay." Stef finally pulled away and held Callie at arms length. "Now, as for the steeling…"

Callie groaned, detesting what was coming. She knew what she was doing was wrong but in that moment the embarrassment outweighed the risk of getting caught.

But Stef couldn't finish that sentence for she didn't know what to say or if she was even allowed to say anything at all. It wasn't her place to dish out punishments for Callie. Yes, she did do the minor things but something like this was usually left to the parents, wasn't it? "I guess Lena will decide." She finally relented.

"Do we have to tell her?" Callie asked miserably, knowing just how disappointed Lena would be. She couldn't go though this whole conversation a second time.

"Yes." Stef responded. "And do you think it's even fair to ask me to keep it from her?" She questioned.

Callie shook her head silently, wondering what would happen once Lena returned in the evening and found out what Callie had been up to. "She's going to kill me." She mumbled as she headed off to her room for a little time to herself before her life came to an end.


	25. Chapter 25

"Why? Why would you do something like this?" Lena asked in anger as she paced the living room back and forth while Stef and Callie sat on the couch. "You know better than this Callie, I know you do so why would you steal?"

She had been asking the same questions over and over again even though Callie wasn't actually answering her. The truth was that Lena hadn't given Callie a chance to answer her yet; she just kept on asking the questions and said that Callie knew better and that she was very upset and disappointed. Stef had made Callie tell Lena stating that it would be better if it came from her but Callie was sure that it was going to be bad no matter who shared the information.

"I am so disappointed in you." Lena said for the fifth time before coming to a halt right in front of Callie, clearly ready to move forward with the conversation. "Why?" She asked one final time, actually pausing long enough to receive a response.

"I'm sorry." Callie finally said though she already knew that it wasn't going to be enough, if Lena even accepted it in the first place.

" _Sorry_ doesn't cut it." Lena said predictably making Callie sigh in defeat.

"I was just too embarrassed to actually buy them." The girl replied, wishing she could make Lena understand just how torturous the whole episode had been.

"Then why not come to us?" Lena questioned forcefully. "If you had explained the situation to one of us we could have gotten them for you and you know that. Neither of us are unreasonable or prudes for that matter so that's not really an excuse."

"I didn't plan on stealing anything, I just didn't anticipate it being so weird until I got there." Callie explained. "Yeah it was weird going in and trying to pick out a box of condoms but I really thought I could do it; it was only after this one woman looked at me like I was buying a one-way ticket to hell that I chickened out and I didn't want to have to come back and do it again so I tried to just…" But she trailed off, nervous to even say the words out loud for Lena was already more and just angry.

"Well you are going back there tomorrow and you are going to apologize to the store and explain why you did what you did." Lena stated. "Embarrassed or not this is unacceptable behavior and you owe them an apology."

Callie just nodded though she wasn't at all happy about any of this. It had been the worse day of her life - she'd been judged for looking at condoms, embarrassed by the sight and labeling of them, humiliated at being escorted out of the store by two police officers while several onlookers stared at her and then had to listen to not just one but two lectures on her behavior. Returning to that store was definitely the very last thing on Callie's wishlist but right now, in the moment, she didn't dare argue with her mother.

"You are also grounded." Lena continued, deciding that Callie needed a bigger punishment than just an apology. "You are to go to school and come straight home for a month - no shopping, no friends, no T.V. and no phone. You may have your computer for homework but only out where either Stef or I can check on you and nothing more than that. This should give you plenty of time to finish the project and anything else you have to get done. We can buy your condoms tomorrow and if there is anything else you need then you better pick that up tomorrow as well."

Once again Callie nodded miserably and gratefully left the room the moment that Lena dismissed her. She was more than done with this conversation and while she did have to give up most of her entertainment for the foreseeable future, the one thing she was most desperate for right now was some privacy.

* * *

"I really don't think she meant to do anything wrong." Stef said softly once Callie was gone and they heard her bedroom door close.

"That's beside the point." Lena practically yelled, still too wound up to lower her tone. "She knows that stealing is wrong."

Stef nodded in agreement though there was more she wanted to say but it wasn't really her place. She was, at most, a friend and nothing more. She wasn't Callie's mother or guardian and she, of all people, had no right to parent her or advise Lena on her parenting methods; after all, look where that had gotten them the last time.

"What?" Lena asked, noticing the look on Stef's face. "You disagree?"

Stef opened her mouth but quickly closed it again. She wasn't sure what to say or where her place was in this entire situation.

"Just say it." Lena demanded, frustrated enough without playing games.

"She knows it's wrong." Stef agreed, finally just having her say. "But she's also a fifteen year old girl buying condoms for the first time." She said, feeling somewhat sorry for the girl. "I remember buying a pregnancy test at that age and it wasn't fun." She reasoned, remembering having to go to a pharmacy almost an hour away in order to not be recognized as the daughter of one of the most established men in the city.

Lena finally calmed down a notch and recalled her own embarrassing moments as a teenager - her item of doom had been maxi-pads for while she had been underdeveloped in the chest area she was the first among all her friends to have a giant red patch at the back of her pants during lunch one day at school. Lena sighed as she looked to Stef, wondering what the woman though of her now that she'd actually seen the monster that unnecessarily came out occasionally. "So what do you suggest?" She finally asked Stef for her opinion on Callie's punishment.

"Two weeks maybe?" Stef questioned. She herself was new to the punishment thing but she did feel that a whole month was more than the crime warranted considering the circumstances.

"What would you have done?" Lena asked curiously for while it was Stef's opinion to lessen the length of time it was still Lena's punishment.

Stef shrugged as Lena took a seat beside her. "I don't know." She answered honestly. "I couldn't figure out what was appropriate and besides, it wasn't my place." She said looking at Lena.

"It is." Lena answered certainly. "You were the one here when she came home and you talked to her about it, you have a right to discipline her. I know that you will do right by her."

"It didn't feel right." Stef replied. "You guys live here, this is your home too but I'm not…" She trailed off, still hating to say the words _not her mother._ "

"But you love her and you want what's best for her." Lena finished instead. "Stef I trust you and if something doesn't feel right then we'll work that out between us but we made this arrangement so that Callie could have another parental figure in her life so you don't have to be afraid to discipline as well."

Suddenly the scales were balanced between the two - Lena had always felt uncomfortable with Stef's wealth and the fact that Stef was so willingly sharing it with them in so many ways but Stef felt like the outsider in the family and while they were making room for her; she still felt like it wasn't her place. Hopefully it was just time and a little practice before they all began to feel like they belonged right where they were.


	26. Chapter 26

For Callie the two weeks passed gruelingly slowly. Lena had taken her back to the pharmacy and she'd apologized and explained her reasons and the woman at the counter had been understanding but reminded Callie not to do it again. She's told them that she often caught young kids and teens shoplifting and the only reason she called the cops but never pressed charges was to give them a fright so that they hopefully learned their lesson and didn't repeat their mistakes. She also mentioned that Lena was one of the very few parents to actually bring their child back to apologize and that alone told her that Callie wasn't going to make a habit of taking things that didn't belong to her.

Through the rest of the week Callie struggled with things to do. There was only so much homework to do and even her project didn't require that much attention. She read a few books and helped Lena with her grading and the two even managed to have a heart to heart one afternoon while Stef was out.

"I like it here." Callie said as she pulled another fifth-grade math worksheet to correct.

"Me too." Lena smiled, also looking up from her corrections.

"But I miss our old house." Callie added nostalgically. "I love Stef but I miss it just being us in our house." She said. "That was the first house I ever got to call _home_ and I didn't realize when we were leaving how much it meant to me."

"It was special to me too." Lena agreed. "I have so many memories of you in that house - It was there that you got your very first 'A' ever remember?" She questioned, thinking back to the time Callie came excitedly over to show her that she'd gotten her very first 'A' in her fifth grade science test. Back then Lena didn't even know that she was going to officially adopt Callie yet, she was just fostering her at the time and Lena wasn't her science teacher so she didn't know about it until Callie told her. "You even had your first sleepover in that house." Lena reminded her of the time Callie stayed over when her foster mother got conjunctivitis and it was too dangerous for Callie to be around her. "But my personal favorite was when you made me breakfast in bed for my birthday." Lena smiled fondly at the memory of Callie making more than just a little noise as she tried to make eggs, fry bacon and keep the toast from burning all at once. But how Lena had loved the tray with the meal cooked with loved and garnished with a daisy in a drinking glass and jam on the toast that was spread in the shape of a heart.

Callie also smiled at the memories, they were happy times for her as well for she had never been so carefree and content before. She also had fond memories that she treasured. "Remember when you taught me how to bake a cherry pie?" She asked with a smile. "I think we had more flour on us than we did in the pie." She commented with a laugh. "And I remember how scared I was when I spilled that grape juice on your bed. I was sure I was dead meat when I asked if the stain would come out and you said no. I still can't believe you bought a tie-dye kit and made a project out of it." She exclaimed, remembering sitting on the bathroom floor with Lena, cutting it up into small pieces and dying it every color imaginable. "But my favorite had been the day that you had asked if you could adopt me." She related. "When you started telling me that you were happy that I was there and that I was a great kid I was so sure that you were gonna tell me it was time for me to go somewhere else. I was so surprised when you actually asked if you could adopt me I almost didn't believe it. My whole world changed after that and nothing could possibly compare."

"That's not true." Lena denied. "There are lots of things that are just as important and just as priceless as that. It was there that you finally _did_ get adopted and there that you got a new heart. It was also there that you met your birth mother and while she wasn't a big part of your life at the time, she eventually grew to be one. I know that house held a lot of memories for both of us and it's okay to miss it but remember, we are making memories in this house as well and we continue to do that wherever we go."

Callie nodded realizing that Lena was right. She already had a few nice memories of this house and while none of them were as powerful as being adopted or having life-saving surgery, they still made her smile and they held a special place in her heart.

* * *

By the end of the second week she was more than ready to be let loose. Her first evening of freedom happened to be a Friday and so she made plans to go to a movie with one of her friends. That same day Max was also flying down and he and Stef were going to scout out office spaces for Foster and Scott and for the very first time since they moved in Lena had the house entirely to herself.

Heading outside armed with _Corban Addison's A Walk Across the Sun_ and a bean-bag that Stef kept in front of the T.V. in the living room Lena made herself comfortable out under the tree in the middle of the backyard. Ever since they moved in with Stef, Lena had been feeling a whole lot better - she had gained the weight she hadn't even realized that she'd lost, she was eating better, less tired all the time and she was no longer worried about making ends meet or helping her mother out and so for the first time in a long time she was able to just relax and as a result within minutes she was lost in the world of Ahalya and Sita Ghai and their struggle for freedom from human trafficking and didn't hear the front door opening.

"We're back!" Stef called through the house as she and Max entered, excited with the office space they had found. "Lena?" She called again when she received no answer.

The two headed into the kitchen for some cold lemonade and that's when Max spotted her through the big window looking more relaxed than either of them had ever seen.

"There she is." Max told Stef and watched her face as Stef looked out the window. He could see the smile forming on Stef's face and it made him want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her to knock some sense into her to make a move. "She looks better." He said instead, deciding that it wasn't his place to push her any more. He'd already said what he needed to and now it was up to them to take it forward.

"She does." Stef agreed as she poured an extra glass of lemonade and headed out the back door towards Lena who only registered their presence once they were practically standing on top of her.

"Oh, hey." Lena said, somewhat embarrassed as she jumped up and looked guiltily at Stef for having brought her beanbag chair outside without asking if it was okay. "Sorry, I didn't hear you guys come in."

"That's okay, good book?" Stef asked as she handed Lena the glass and the three of them headed back inside.

"Yes." Lena said, clearly meaning it. "Did you find an office."

"We did." Stef said with a huge smile as she glanced to Max. "It's perfect."

"It's just two miles from here. Three floors, wide windows, lots of light and a large reception area. It used to be a therapy center but it's been closed for a few years now but the layout is just perfect." Max described.

"We plan to use the first two floors and save the third for storage for now." Stef added.

"That's great." Lena smiled, happy for them and feeling just a little less guilty at taking over Stef's home-office. "When do you guys get to move in?" She questioned, still eyeing the dreaded beanbag chair left outside.

"As soon as we can get everything together." Stef answered.

"We're going back tomorrow with the check and to sign the paperwork." Max added, looking to Stef for confirmation.

From there the two basically began talking about plans and what they would need to do that neither of them really noticed Lena slip back outside and put the chair back where it belonged.


	27. Chapter 27

"So what time will you be home each night once you start working again?" Callie asked at dinner that night as the four of them sat down to a meal that Lena had made.

"Around six or six-thirty." Stef answered with a smirk. "And I know it hasn't seemed like it in the last three years I've still been working, I just haven't done it as a nine to five job lately."

Callie smiled back for it was true - ever since Stef had found Callie she'd spent a lot of time trying to create a relationship with her and while Stef had gone back and forth between San Francisco and San Diego she still spent a majority of the time with her. Hell, she'd moved cities and started a whole new branch of her business just for her sake but she was glad for having Stef in her life was proving to be a great boon.

Max laughed. "Don't believe her." He said, pointing his fork at Callie in warning. "The last time we were setting things up she was like a crazy machine - I don't think she slept for like a year."

"It's not the same." Stef defended herself. "We aren't starting from scratch this time and we already have a name built for ourselves. Besides, this time I have Callie to come home to." She added, smiling at the young girl who smiled back, the well developing bond between the two clear as day.

"Plus, she can always bring some of it home with her." Lena pointed out. "That's what I did once Callie came to live with me. That way she wasn't stuck at school from four to six until I was done."

"Not a good idea either." Max teased again. "If she does that then it WON'T EVER STOP!" He said dramatically as though a giant monster was about to come after him making all three women smile at his goofiness. The man was a tyrant at work, ensuring his clients got the best he had to offer but on a personal level Max was the most loyal, friendly and helpful man that Stef had ever met and Lena was slowly but surely realizing that as well.

"Hey now." Stef frowned at the image he was painting of her. "I'm not that bad." She said before turning to Callie. "I've been working from home ever since I moved her, have I been that bad?"

"Twenty bucks if you take my side." Max quickly offered before Callie could give her answer and the girl instantly grinned, looking at Stef apologetically. "I've seen so little of her I sometimes forget what she looks like." She commented, holding her hand out palm up, indicating to Max that he had to pay up.

"Traitor!" Stef squinted her eyes at the girl. "Just you wait, I'll get you back for that one."

"But seriously, you gotta make sure this one remembers to eat and sleep." Max said, more seriously. "Although with this kind of cooking I doubt she'll forget as often as she used to." He added, once again using his fork to point at the food while giving Lena the credit for the delicious meal. "Invite me for meals like this more often and you'll have to turn that guest room into a room for me." He added.

"Thank you." Lena smiled but then turned the conversation back to the company and the original topic. "So when do you think you'll actually start full time?" She questioned.

"It's gonna take a another month to renovate and set up but once that's done things should really start building up." Stef explained. "We already have several clients trying to settle out of court and soon we'll be able to take on the more serious cases and build our clientele.

"We have plenty of high-profile clients back in San Francisco so once word gets out that we're open for business in San Diego things should build up pretty fast." Max added. "One good thing about this field is that someone or the other always needs a lawyer."

"It's sad really." Stef thought out loud. "So many times people who have been so close for so many years take each other to court without even trying to solve their problems a more civil way." She said. "I mean, I'm grateful that I can make an excellent living from this but people who have worked together for decades; built businesses out of nothing and put they hearts and souls into their companies disagree on something and their very first thought is 'let's take it to court'."

"She's right." Max agreed. "Sometimes they are families. We've had brothers fight over companies that their fathers or grandfathers had started and built for them. We've had successful companies dissolve because it was tearing families and friendships apart."

"People have become so greedy." Stef observed. "No matter how much they have they just keep on trying to grab some more and they don't care who they have to push aside to get it or how much someone else might actually need it."

"It's like that everywhere." Lena added. "Even in school with kids as young as Callie and younger. Remember when she couldn't breath after smoking? Most of the children were more upset that they got into trouble than the fact that she could have died."

Three sets of eyes glanced at Callie, thankful that she'd survived that ordeal and everything since.

"Unfortunately it's become a part of us." Stef agreed. "We are brought up believing that it's more important to get your hands on whatever you can and want rather than to think about others and give them a hand up. Even in court people will dish out every bit of dirt about their opponent that they can get their hands on even if it's completely irrelevant to the case. The truth is that when you want something bad enough most people are willing to do anything they can to get it."

"The two of you are one of the few exceptions." Max added looking to Stef and Lena, earning raised eyebrows from all three of them, waiting for him to explain. "Everything was such a mess in the beginning when Stef first found you and they got worse but you realized that Callie was the most important in all of that and you put aside your differences in order to do what was best for her. Stef gave you the space you both needed and then Lena welcomed her back when Callie was ready. Not many people will do that, not even for the sake of their children."

Stef and Lena glanced at each other, both vividly remembering all the mistakes they had made but also thankful that they were well past it and had managed to come out the otherwise seemingly unscathed. Lena remembered the look on Stef's face when she'd asked her for money but then still refused to allow her any contact with Callie. Stef had looked so broken after that but Lena hadn't softened. She'd convinced herself it was for Callie's sake but in her heart she knew that a part of it was her own fear that Stef would win - not necessarily by law but in Callie's heart.

"It was selfish on my part too." Stef leveled. "Of course I wanted to do whatever I could to help Callie and I agreed that she deserved the best but all I had to give was money and that wasn't a struggle for me but in return I got to know how she was doing, at least I knew that she was getting better."

"Still, I was wrong for doing that." Lena said apologetically. "I should never have shut you out like that, not when I could see you were doing everything to help her. Sometimes we're like crabs, trying to pull each other down in order to get to the top."

"That's pretty much the core of our business." Max admitted. "I mean, I was all ready to use your father's infidelity in order to label you an unfit mother." He recalled. "Stef was the one who basically forbid me to bring that up, if we made it to court."

Lena heard the words but it took her a minute to actually register what Max had said and in that minute Stef had given Max the most terrifying glair he'd ever received. He didn't know that Stef had talked to Dana and Stewart about it nor that Lena had been kept protected from that information but still it wasn't for him to dig up once again.

In the mean time Lena finally made sense of what Max had said and her face filled with shock as she stared at him, wondering how this information could possibly be true but the look on his face told her that he wasn't making it up or even skeptical about his findings and so she glanced to Stef instead, her anger building up at the fact that Stef apparently already knew about this and never told her.

Without a single word Lena got up and left the table, the only sound in the room were her shoes clicking on the wooden stairs as she ascended them, each step making it clear just how angry and upset she was. With a heavy sigh and one last reprimanding glare at Max, Stef followed.


	28. Chapter 28

When Stef opened Lena's bedroom door she found her standing and staring out of the window, a hard and angered look on her face.

"It's not true." Lena said, not even looking away from whatever it was she seemed to be staring at.

Stef didn't respond as she took a few steps into the room. There was nothing she could say for she could tell that Lena knew it was indeed a fact. Lena just needed time to process it, accept and finally reach in whatever way she needed to in order to get past it. Stef was just not sure how long this entire process would take or how bad it would get.

"How does he even know?" Lena asked, still looking out the window, focused on something that wasn't there. This was the point when she finally accepted that her father had in fact cheated on her mother. She finally turned to face Stef, glaring at her. "How do you know?" She asked accusingly. Something this private and personal should not be privy to just anybody, especially when it wasn't even shared with the people it affected the most.

"We have very good P.I.s at the firm." Stef explained. "It's their job to find out everything that can help us with a case." She took a few more steps towards Lena, trying to offer support, to be there for her but at the same time afraid of crowding her.

Lena shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be happening; it wasn't possible. Her family wasn't perfect but it wasn't so damn far from it either. Her father was a good man, a loyal man and this wasn't something he could have done - at least, it wasn't something she could believe he'd done. He loved her mother, she could see that clear as day so why? When? And for how long? Did she even know? Was she as naive and clueless as Lena was?

"When?" Lena finally asked out loud, the first answer she wanted. There was so much she wanted to know but she wasn't sure she was ready to hear the truth.

"More than ten years ago." Stef answered. "You hadn't even left for college yet."

"I can't believe this." Lena said with a disgusted laugh. "I never thought my dad would do something like this." She was once again staring at something that wasn't there but her head quickly snapped back towards Stef with an accusing look on her face. "And I definitely didn't imagine to hear about it from you."

"I'm sorry." Stef apologized. "It wasn't my place to tell you. It wasn't my story to share." She said, feeling like she was still in the middle of something she had no business meddling in.

But that wasn't good enough for Lena, nothing was good enough for her right now for her world seemed to be crashing down around her - her father had just fallen from the pedestal she'd placed him upon; her mother was probably just as naive about it as she herself had been and Stef knew more about all this than she did and that just didn't feel right to Lena.

"They wanted to shield you from it." Stef continued to try and explain Dana and Stewarts reasons.

Lena's head instantly snapped up, her eyes wide and surprised. "They?" She questioned. "So my mother knows about it?" She asked.

Stef nodded gently. "Your father told her right after it happened." She explained.

"Wh…hy?" Lena asked in confusion though she wasn't sure Stef could give her that answer. "Why would he tell her he was having an affair? Why not keep it from her too; spare her the hurt?"

But Stef did have an answer and a good one at that. "Cheating isn't the same as having an affair." She explained, her years in Law had taught her that even though this wasn't primarily her field. "This didn't mean anything to him. He wasn't in love with the woman and he wasn't out to hurt your mother. He made a mistake and when he realized it he tried to make amends. He didn't want her to find out from someone else. He owed it to her to tell her the truth."

"Then why not tell me too?" Lena questioned. It didn't strike her that she was asking the wrong person these questions but Stef was the only one there and as long as she was giving the answers then Lena going to ask the questions. "Why hide it from me? Didn't I matter?" She asked, her voice filled with pain for nothing about this situation seemed right.

"You mattered the most." Stef said, wishing she could make all this disappear for Lena. "You were also so young." She added. She decided to leave out the part about Lena's choice in colleges that played a role in the incident. That much even Stef could shield her from and if at some point Dena decided to share it then it would be between them. "Besides, he didn't want you to know. You were his daughter and you looked at him like he had hung up the moon. He couldn't bear to have you look at him as anything less."

By now Stef was almost within reaching distance from Lena and she wanted nothing more than to take her in her arms but considering the circumstances and the anger Lena already felt towards her and the conversation in general, she wasn't sure it was a good idea.

It was only at this point that Lena realized that Stef was speaking more in fact than assumption. She wasn't talking about how Stewart _probably_ felt but in fact how he _did_ feel. "You _know_ that they didn't want me to know." She suddenly stated. "You _know_ that it was him that told my mother the truth." These were things that even a private investigator wouldn't know for certain so someone must have told Stef and the only people who could have done that were her parents.

Once again Stef nodded, feeling like she was interfering in someone else's business. "We spoke once, after Callie's surgery. Your parents came to the Plaza to speak to me. They told me not to let my mistakes break the relationship that Callie and I had built. By then I already know about him and Dana would have made an excellent lawyer because she noticed. Your dad was so afraid that I had already told you but your mother stood by him. She had forgiven him a long time ago and nothing was going to change that."

Lena remained silent and listened. Somehow, hearing all this from Stef, a person who could speak from the outside made it all make so much more sense. Had it been her mother telling her all this she would have believed that Dana was just trying to protect her again,

"This doesn't define him Lena." Stef continued. She wanted Lena to forgive her father because despite all of this he was a good father. "He made a mistake but it isn't his mistake. Sometime we unintentionally hurt the people we love and sometime we do it knowing that we're going to hurt them but sometimes we can't find ways to avoid it. We've all done it even when we don't realize that we have. My father forced me to give my baby up for adoption knowing that it would hurt me. I filed for custody of Callie knowing that all she wanted was to stay with you and you kept me from Callie knowing that I wanted nothing more than to be with her. The fact is that we all thought that we were doing the best thing we could. It doesn't make us bad people but sometimes we want to protect the ones we love from our mistakes. Sometimes they aren't as important as what we learn from those mistakes and how we try not to repeat them." She paused here a moment and took one more step towards Lena, hoping that she would truly understand just how true her next statement was going to be. "And sometimes we just don't want them to look at us any differently."

By now Lena had calmed down considerably and while she was still hurting she wasn't so angry anymore; at least not at Stef. She was upset with her father but she wasn't sure that her image of him had actually changed, after all he was dead and in a way he was now forever frozen in that image.

"So you've known about this for a while." Lena said to Stef. "I can't believe they talked to you about it." The blond woman was slowly but surely becoming a part of her family and even her parents seemed to think so if they were willing to discuss things like this with her. Yes, Stef had found out through the investigation but Dana and Stewart were under no obligation to talk to her about it, especially since she'd dropped the custody battle. Once they had found out that she would keep their secret they could have just ended it right then and there.

"They were the ones who gave me the courage to try for a relationship with Callie after her surgery." Stef explained. "It was your dad that told me that my mistakes didn't make me a bad person. He's the one that taught me that if I do something about those mistakes then I could be forgiven."

"My dad always liked you." Lena said, thinking back to the only time that she knew of where Stewart had met Stef. Obviously they had met at least once since then but that too had been kept a secret from Lena. "When he met you at Callie's birthday party he just seemed to know that you weren't out to hurt us; that you weren't what we all imaged you to be. He said you were _unlike any filthy rich person he'd ever met_." She quoted with a laugh making Stef smile as well.

"I was a privileged girl." Stef agreed. "But my father taught me at a young age that just because we had the money didn't mean we could just throw it away or that we didn't have to work hard." She paused here, thinking for a moment before continuing. "But I think it was having Callie that truly taught me that there were some very important things that even money couldn't buy. There was no price on the love I felt for her nor was there one on the remedy for the heartache I felt about leaving her." By now Stef had tears in her eyes and Lena took the last step between them and held her hand in support. So much of this was now in the past but it still hurt and she wondered if this is how her mother felt too - truly forgiving her father but still being hurt by it so many years later.

Needing a moment to recover Stef left the room but returned just a few seconds later with a folder labelled _Lena_ and handed it to the younger woman. In it was everything that Max had accumulated during the investigation. "This is everything we got." She said, needing there to be no more secrets between them.

Slightly nervously Lena flipped through the file seeing bank statements belonging to her and her parents from the last several years, her mother's orders log and father's business papers. She found photographs of family and friends; job applications and adoption forms. There was even a picture of Gretchen with several details of their plans to marry and Lena's sudden change of heart. She could see that there was no support for Callie other than Lena and her parents and now even that was less for Stewart was no longer alive.

"Why didn't you ever go through with this?" Lena asked curiously. "You would have won."

"I wasn't looking to take her from you Lena." Stef tried to explain even though she'd said it before. "I just didn't want to lose her completely. I would have loved for her to live with me but I knew that's not what she wanted and I wouldn't have forced it upon her. I have always been eternally grateful to you for everything you have done for her that I never did. You are her mother Lena and she loves you and there is nothing you could ever do that would make her think any less of you either."

"So are you." Lena replied, tears making their way down her face as well. "You are her mother too and even if it's not legal, there is no one in the world I trust her with more than you."

Stef smiled gratefully for it was truly the best gift that Lena could ever give her. Just like Lena said - it wasn't legal but it was now a bond that nothing could ever break again.

Without another word Stef tightened her grip on Lena's hand and pulled her in, wrapping her arms around her and holding tight. Lena's own arms encircled Stef as well; the two of them supporting each other but also using each other as support. They were learning that they made a great team and while there were bound to be bumps in the road, they were determined to navigate them together. Stef smiled as she held Lena just a bit tighter, moving her wild hair to the side as tears fell down her face onto Lena's shoulder. "Don't let this change the way that you see your father." She said, giving Lena the last bit of advice she had. "He has always been there for you when you needed him and that's something that not everyone can say." She pulled away just a little bit in order to be able to see Lena's face and smiled when Lena nodded in acceptance.

"Okay." Lena whispered as Stef leaned in and kissed gently on the forehead while Lena leaned comfortably into the embrace, feeling safe and protected in the woman's arms. For a moment life was completely peaceful, everything seemed to be falling into place and nothing seemed to be missing.

But it didn't last long for before Lena could truly finish that though they heard a loud thud followed by Callie's loud and angry voice. "YOU ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING!"


	29. Chapter 29

Callie and Max sat at the dinner table for what seemed like years, both of them lost in thought and neither of them saying a word. Max felt stupid and rude for blurting out Stewart's business like that in front of Lena and Callie. He hadn't really thought about it from their point of view - to him it had just been a job at the time and he did it with more determination because it was Stef that he was fighting for. Ironically it's the one thing that Stef had been trying to teach him from the time they worked on their first case together back in law school - that Max often forgot that they were dealing with real people with real feelings and real high stakes at risk.

Callie didn't know what to really think. She was angry with Max, that was for certain; and possibly angry with Stef as well for it was clear that the woman had known the truth and kept it from Lena. How dare they investigate them like they were criminals. Things like this were private within the family and for Max and Stef to believe they had a right to stick their noses where they weren't wanted insulted her more than she imagined. But apart from that she wasn't sure what to think of her own family. She had an image of Lena and her parents that never once included something like this. In her mind none of them could ever do any wrong and anyone accusing them of such a thing was either lying or wrong but clearly that wasn't the case and Callie wasn't so young that she could naively believe it so.

"I'm sorry." Max finally said, breaking Callie of her thoughts. "I didn't mean…"

"You didn't mean to blurt it out like that in front of my mother but you did mean to pry into our lives to dig up whatever dirt you could find." Callie finished bitterly.

"I didn't realize that your mother didn't know." Max tried to explain. "I know that either way it was not my place to bring up the subject but it just slipped. I wasn't thinking."

"Is _this_ what being a lawyer means?" Callie questioned accusingly. "Digging up every mistake that someone has ever made; ruining them and their lives? How do you even live with yourself?" She spat angrily.

"It was a case; I was doing a job to win for my client." He felt the need to explain.

"It's not _just_ a case." Callie replied. "Not to me, not to my mom and certainly not to by grandpa who isn't even here to explain anymore."

"I never meant to hurt you Calle." Max said sincerely. "I love Stef and I would never intentionally do anything to hurt any of you."

"Well then take her and go." Callie said through gritted teeth. "Just get out and don't ever come back. You do nothing but destroy things. YOU ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING!"

* * *

"I'm not trying to destroy your family." Max said just as Stef and Lena made their way downstairs when they heard Callie yell.

"Honey." Lena rushed to Callie's side before the girl could say anything further.

"No, why is he here?" Callie asked her mother though she never once took her eyes off the man, afraid that if she so much as blinked again he would create another explosion. "He's _not_ part of this family and if it's Stef he wants then he can have her." She spat, still glaring at the man.

"Callie STOP." Lena ordered, forcing the girl to look at her. She didn't have to turn around to see the hurt on Stef's face. After all this time; after all they'd been through, Callie still seemed so willing to just toss Stef aside. "Think about your words before you say them." She warned, reminding Callie that her words can hurt others just as much.

"But he's always destroying things." Callie said, her voice practically begging Lena to believe her, to see for herself and agree with her. "Every time he shows up, things go wrong."

"It's not true." Lena denied.

"Yes, it is." Callie argued back. "He ruined my adoption, he was there when Stef fought for custody and now he's out to ruin us again?"

"It wasn't his fault." Lena began to explain. "He put a stop to your adoption because your birthmother had been looking for you for two years. He was there when Stef filed for custody because he was being a good friend to her and as for today, he isn't responsible for grandpa's mistakes."

"He didn't have to tell us." Callie stated. The two of them were arguing as though there was no one else in the room. "Why did he have to ruin it? Why now when it doesn't even matter anymore. Is he just jealous?"

"No, we would have found out eventually." Lena said. "These things have a way for coming out of the woodwork no matter how hard you try to hide it. Just like you found out about the custody battle, remember. I tried to keep it from you but eventually you found out."

"I'm not jealous Callie." Max finally interrupted, speaking for himself for the first time since the two women came back downstairs. "I am so happy for you; for all three of you. It worked out so perfectly." This time Max kept his mouth shut about Stef and Lena as a couple for he definitely did not want to overstep twice at one dinner.

"Sweetheart, from the time that Stef found us he has been nothing but supportive of her." Lena explained. "He's covered for her at work when she spent months and months down here; her fought with her when she wanted you; he cried with her when she lost you and now he's expanding his company for her because she wasn't to be with you. Max wasn't trying to hurt us, he was just being there for his friend and that's not a bad thing."

"So he can just ruin our lives just because he's not our friend?" Callie questioned in confusion. Fine, he was an awesome friend to Stef but what about her and Lena, what were they, chopped liver?"

"He made a mistake by sharing that information." Lena answered. "But that doesn't make him a bad person just like having an affair is a mistake that doesn't make grandpa a bad person either." She said though she glanced to Stef, grateful for the change of heart.

"So you're just okay with this?" Callie asked Lena with a shrug.

"Baby, my dad has been there for me through _everything_ from the time I was born. He has done so much for me through the years and he's done so much for you ever since you came into our lives, do you really think that this mistake that he made so many years ago changes who he truly is?"

"I guess not." Callie said reluctantly. "I mean, I never imagined he would do something like that but…"

"We're disappointed." Lena agreed. "We're hurt and sad and upset but we still love him, don't we? I know I do."

"So do I." Callie replied. "I mean, if he were here right now I don't think I'd be mad at him. I was just mad at Max told us about it. He ruined my image of grandpa."

"You know, sometimes we put the people we love on such a high pedestal that it hurts a lot when we see them fall but the truth is that they are humans too, they make mistakes too and it's not their fault we hold them to such a high standing." Lena told her daughter.

"I"m sorry." Callie finally said to Max. She still believed that the man was a ticking time bomb but like Lena said, it wasn't his fault that her grandpa cheated.

"Me too." Max replied, his hands up in surrender. "I didn't meant to hurt you."

"I know." Callie replied, figuring it was all over. But to her surprise Lena had more to say.

"I think you owe Stef an apology too." Lena said when Callie accepted Max's apology.

"Why?" Callie frowned as she looked from Lena to Stef and back again.

"Do you really want Max to just take her from us and never come back?" Lena asked her daughter with her eyebrow raised.

"No." Callie answered with a frown, wondering why Lena would even ask that.

"So you let something slip even though you didn't actually mean to hurt anyone by it." Lena asked rhetorically making Callie think back to her argument.

"I'm sorry." Callie said to Stef. "I didn't even realize I said that."

"I love you Callie and I hope you know that none of us; not Lena, not I and not even Max, would ever intentionally hurt you."

"I know." Callie replied. "I love you too." She said with a smile and walked over to give the older woman a hug.

Max and Lena smiled as Stef held her daughter tight planting kiss after kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

"You know, Stef always says I have foot in mouth disease." Max said once they were all sitting back down to dinner. He still felt awkward for the mess he'd created but at both Stef and Lena's insistence, he stayed to finish dinner. "It's not that I don't realize that the opposing party are people too, it's just that I want my client to get what they came to me for."

"Makes sense." Callie said with a nod. "I'm sure they dig up all the dirt they can find on your client too right?"

"They do." Max nodded. "Admittedly most of us lawyers are in it to win it. We try to keep it clean but we will use whatever we have to win."

"But Stef said you couldn't." Callie confirmed, remembering his statement that started this whole mess.

"Yes she did." Max answered. "Your mother is truly one of the best lawyers I have ever met and not just because her win rate is very high but because she does it with the minimum damage."

Callie smiled proudly at Stef as Max continued.

"She puts her heart and soul into it and doesn't stop until she truly finds the best outcome." Max finished.

"So what happens if you disagree with your own client?" Callie asked curiously.

"Well, you have the right to deny representation." Max answered. "We aren't court appointed attorneys so we are under no obligation to take on a case when they bring it to us but once we do we are honor-bound to follow our clients wishes and a loss for our clients is a loss for us."

"So you fight hard." Callie finished, finally understanding Max's point of view. Back when he was investigating them Stef was his client and Callie and her family were standing in the way of their big win.

"We all do." Max replied. "You fought against Stef too but you just didn't realize it because you were fighting for what you wanted. She was also a person with feelings that were hurt but you don't see it that way."

Through this entire conversation Lena and Stef had remained quiet listening. Callie was asking interesting questions and it was the longest conversation that the girl had ever had with the man so they just sat back an listened but suddenly it was getting personal again and Stef didn't want it to go down that road.

"Alright, that's enough." Stef interrupted before Callie even had a chance to answer. "All this is in the past and we aren't digging it up again. We all hurt each other, we all fought for what we wanted but can well all be grateful that it concluded without anyone's lives truly being destroyed?"

All three of them watched as Stef's face was filled with stress. She hated everything that they had all done wrong right from the moment that she agreed to give up her baby to the day she turned in the custody papers but there was nothing she could do about it so rehashing the whole thing wasn't helping.

"You know what? Why don't we wrap up here and get some drinks and go out back." Lena suggested. They were all wound tight after the events of the night and she hoped that a change of scenery and a little fresh air would do them all some good.

"I'll grab the wine and glasses." Stef stated as she got up and headed towards the formal dining room where the wine was kept, needing a moment to compose herself.

"I'll clear the plates." Max offered as he took his own and Lena's to the sink before heading back for the last two.

"I'm going to grab a blanket, anyone else want one?" Callie said. The young girl tended to feel cold easily and the cool night breeze was bound to make her shiver.

"No thanks honey." Lena answered. "I'll be right back." She said and headed to the bathroom for a moment.

By the time Lena was back the other three were out back and Max was uncorking the wine and Stef was walking out back with a mug of hot cocoa for Callie.

"Here you go love." Stef said, handing the young girl the mug and it was only then that Lena realized that Callie was sitting in the beanbag chair that Lena loved.

"Thanks." Callie said to Stef before turning to her mom. "You're right mom, this chair is good enough to sleep in." She said emphatically, not realizing just how uncomfortable Lena felt about using Stef's chair.


	30. Chapter 30

Lena smiled awkwardly at Stef, her cheeks flushed. "I like to bring it out here and read sometimes." She explained, hoping that Stef wouldn't mind. "It's so comfortable."

"It is comfortable." Max agreed. "I begged you to leave that chair behind for me when she packed up her apartment in San Fransisco but she refused."

"Like I would leave it behind." Stef said as she took two glasses from Max and handed one to Lena. "It was a present so that, and I quote, I could relax and watch the game." She finished with a goofy laugh. "When have I ever sat down to watch a game of football?"

"Then why didn't you leave it for me?" Max grumbled good-naturedly.

"Because it was a present." Stef argued back.

"A great present." Max pointed out firmly making Callie smile.

"A great present." Stef agreed. "Thank you."

"Wait, you gave her that beanie?" Callie asked Max in surprise. "Why don't you just get one for yourself then?" She asked.

"It's not the same." Max waved his hand. "I only want _hers_." He said like it was a contest.

"I told him to keep it when he gave it to me and kept showing up at my apartment to sit in it but he said no, now the offers no longer available." Stef replied.

"Besides, now you'll have to fight mom too." Callie grinned. She enjoyed seeing Max lose at something. She wasn't mad at him right now but still, she was having fun.

"It's Stef's chair; she can do what she wants with it." Lena quickly stated, wanting no claim to it. "I just borrow it sometimes."

"Just leave it out here, I don't mind." Stef said casually as she glanced towards Callie who did look overly comfortable in the chair.

"No, no I couldn't." Lena shook her head, a sense of embarrassment filled her voice. "It's yours."

"It can still be mind, out here." Stef offered with a shrug.

Callie and Max were now having an argument about which of the two of them would win an argument so they weren't really paying attention to Stef and Lena.

"No, thank you but no." Lena refused.

Stef suddenly realized that Lena felt more than just uncomfortable about the whole thing and so she just let it go but she did plan to talk to Lena again once they were alone.

* * *

"Hey." Stef said later when it was just her and Lena. Stef had just walked Max out for he was staying in a hotel and Callie was getting ready for bed. Lena had been wiping down the kitchen counter and was just done when Stef walked in with the empty glasses. "Are you okay?" Stef asked.

"Yeah." Lena smiled. "I'm all done here." She said, hanging up the rag and heading towards the stairs.

"Wait." Stef stopped her, blocking her path. "Look, I don't know why you think I would be but I'm not mad about the chair." She said, concerned at how uncomfortable Lena had been.

Lena sighed. She knew it was silly but she felt so embarrassed having used something of Stef's and moving it without asking first. Of course she knew it was okay to use it but to take it outside just to make herself comfortable seemed to be pushing it a bit. "I just like reading outside and that chair is so comfortable." Lena explained.

"Then leave it there." Stef shrugged like it was no big deal. "I told you, I don't mind."

"I know." Lena nodded. "But I can't. It's your T.V. chair." Lena pointed out.

"How often have I ever watched T.V. Lena?" Stef questioned with a frown. "You read almost everyday. If I want to watch T.V. I can always bring it back inside for a bit."

"Still, Max gave you that as a gift." Lena argued. Once again Stef was giving in to something in her own house and Lena felt uncomfortable taking anything more from her. She had been such an independent woman but lately she felt like she was taking more than she had earned.

"Lena." Stef stopped her, more concerned than the situation typically required. "It's just a chair." She tried to reason.

Lena closed her eyes, wishing this conversation could just come to an end. She felt like a teenager being confronted about something rather than a grown woman. Stef was right it was _just_ a chair but but the money was also _just_ for Callie's medical expenses and the rent was _just_ temporary and the room was _just_ a home-office but through all of it it was Stef that was making sacrifices.

"Lena?" Stef prompted with the younger woman didn't say anything. "What's wrong?"

"You've been giving in so much." Lena said. "Each time I keep saying that I'm not going to take anything more from you but each time it happens again. I know I asked you for the money for Callie but I just didn't know what else to do."

"You did the right thing." Stef assured. "Believe me I was more than happy to help. I wanted the best for her as well."

"But then you kept helping us and then we moved in and you gave up your office and it just never seems to end. I can't start rearranging your house as well."

"It's your house too." Stef replied. "Lena, I really don't care about things like this. You can rearrange the whole damn house if you want."

"I rent two rooms." Lena argued. "I don't have a right."

"Yes, you do." Stef argued back, glancing up the stairs to make sure that Callie wasn't around. "I give you the tight Lena. I don't want you to feel like a guest in this house. It's your home and it's Callie's home and you have a right to your opinions and your preferences."

Lena didn't look convinced, instead she looked more uncomfortable at Stef's insistence and so Stef tried another strategy.

"Do you remember what you told me when Callie got into trouble for stealing?" Stef asked Lena. Lena nodded and Stef continued. "You said that even though Callie wasn't mine legally, that I could still discipline her when needed." She said as Lena looked down. "That applies here too. This may not be _your_ house but you do live here as well so you do get to make changes; make it comfortable; make it yours."

"Is this what you do with the judges?" Lena asked, confusing Stef. "Is this how you sway them into doing what you want? Is this why you have such a high winning streak?"

Finally Stef smiled when she realized that it was Lena's way of accepting her offer without actually saying it. "You are adorable when you lose." She said, putting an arm around Lena's shoulder's and teasing her slightly as Lena tried to avoid the embarrassment. "And while we're on the subject." She continued more seriously. "I'm going up to San Fransisco for a few days next week so while I'm gone please, please make yourselves comfortable."

Lena nodded and smiled appreciatively and once again Stef smirked at her unnecessary embarrassment over something so small.

"Okay, I was being dumb, I get it." Lena finally admitted, hoping that Stef would let it go if she did.

Once again laughing Stef grabbed Lena's hand and pulled her up towards the stairs. "Come goofball. Let's get to bed, it's late."


	31. Chapter 31

"A party?" Callie asked excitedly as she pulled on a sweater as the air got slightly cooler now that it was the end of November. "Cool."

"A launch party." Stef clarified for the benefit of the teenage girl lounging on the couch in the living room. She had just come back from a week in San Fransisco and was glad to see that Lena seemed a lot more comfortable in the house. "We were thinking December twenty-fourth."

"So soon?" Lena asked in surprise. She was busy dusting the bookshelf by the couch.

"We want to officially open in the new year." Stef explained as she opened up a notepad she'd brought down with her. "This would be a launch - Christmas party combo."

"It will be a lot of work to finish in just three weeks." Lena said with concern. Planning a party of that scale wasn't an overnight job.

"Oh yes." Stef said. "We gotta get a move on it."

"What do you have to do?" Callie asked, having never organized an event of this scale. She sat down beside Stef and watched as she began her list.

"Well first will be the guest list." Stef began and handed the notepad to Callie to write. "We have to keep it down to the number we can hold at the office. Max and I will make that list. Apart from that there's the food and alcohol and the flowers and decorations and the invitations. We also need a welcome package…"

"What's that?" Callie asked as she listed everything that Stef mentioned.

"It's just a welcome package that tells people about our company, about us and our staff; our ethics and motto; some of the bigger cases we've won and testimonials from our clients. Usually it includes a complimentary pen or other small office product with our name on it." Stef explained.

"We also have to arrange for tables and chairs for dinner and do the seating chart which means that invitations have to go out at least ten days before the party so that people have time to work it into their schedules." Stef continued to say though she was talking more to herself now. "That leaves us with just two weeks to have the guest list and invitations done."

* * *

Exactly twelve days later Stef, Lena and Callie were sitting at the kitchen table and Stef was handwriting the names onto each invitation. There were almost a hundred and fifty people on their guest list that included several high-end businesses from San Diego including hoteliers, celebrities, businessmen, doctors and political heads; basically anyone who could use their services and pay the high price. They also invited the top people from other law firms in the city in order to meet the competition and make acquaintances. Their top clients from San Fransisco were also invited and so were their employees and their families from both cities; Max's parents, Brother and his wife and kids and a few friends and acquaintances from San Fransisco as well. Stef had invited her parents but they had declined with the excuse of a prior engagement but Stef knew that it was because of Callie though she would never let the girl know that. In fact, she hadn't even actually written their names down on the list for she knew that they wouldn't come and it might have been upsetting for Callie.

For the last two weeks this was pretty much all that Stef could even think about. Max had flown down twice during that time to help set it all up and even Lena had done a lot in terms of decorations, flowers and the dinner menu although she learned early on in her aid that Stef and Max were spending lavishly on this party and cost wasn't an issue and Lena was enjoying doing the planning. Stef and Max had gone over their guest list several times trying to figure out how to keep it below a hundred and fifty but still include all the VIP's.

"Okay, whose next?" Stef asked as she handed Lena the card to put into an envelope and seal shut before sticking the address label on the front.

"Donna and William Anderson." Callie read from the list before picking one of the invites up to have a look at it.

It was a cream colored invitation card at least one-sixteenth of an inch thick with gold leafing and a gold design on two opposite corners and deep red writing. The card itself was slightly textured and the design and writing were shiny and embossed.

"Wow." Callie said in amazement. "When you said invites I kinda imagined an email."

Stef laughed and shook her head. "Not for something like this." She explained. "We have to be formal and professional. An actual invitation is much more sophisticated."

Callie turned to Lena. "All we ever get are bills and flyers." She said somewhat disappointedly. "I've never gotten anything in the mail, let alone an invite to a party like this."

"Well it's going to be a lot more boring than it sounds so make sure your phone is fully charged." Stef warned. "You can even invite a friend or two if you like." She added but then stopped writing and looked up at Callie. "But no tricks." She warned.

Lena's head suddenly snapped up for she didn't realize that Callie was invited to the event. Neither of their names were on the list. She understood for this was a business event and they were already running short on space but Lena would still have loved to actually see it happening and now she realized that maybe she would.

* * *

Two days later Callie grinned widely as she walked in the door after school and proudly showed off her very own invitation to the party.

"Look." She said showing Lena who had just started on dinner. "I'm going to a fancy ball."

Lena smiled as she took the card and noticed only Callie's name on the front. "What else was in the mail today?" She asked casually.

"Just some junk." Callie shrugged as she tossed two flyers and some pizza discount coupons.

Lena's shoulders slumped slightly but she smiled as she handed Callie her invitation back. She wasn't going to say anything to Stef or Callie but she would instruct Callie to take several pictures for her and have a helping of the lemon salmon as well.

* * *

With just two days left before the party things were finally falling into place. Everything had been ordered, everyone invited, several rooms at the Plaza and the Hilton were booked for their San Fransisco guests and there wasn't much left to do but wait for the day to arrive. Lena was watching the news on TV and Callie was finishing up a book report when Stef walked in through the door, her long garment bag draped over her arm.

"What's that?" Callie asked as Stef entered the living room.

"My dress for tomorrow night." Stef explained. "I had it sent to the cleaners."

"Let's see." Callie smiled. Over the years and more so after her surgery and return to normal life Callie had changed from the tomboy she had been into a rather girly teenager. Puberty had finally set in when she was fourteen and her medications had stopped and with that came the hormones and the more feminine tastes.

Stef unzipped the dress as Callie and Lena watched, waiting to see what Stef was going to wear. The woman had a way of looking casual but glamorous all at once and it never ceased to amaze either of them how put together Stef always looked.

"That's gorgeous." Callie said as she got up to have a closer look at the dress. She hadn't expected something as fancy as Stef was showing her but this really was like a ballgown. It was a long flow-y off shoulder v-neck gown in deep red with a pleated fitted body and beadwork on the sleeves and neckline.

"It's beautiful." Lena agreed, carefully running her fingers over the beadwork.

"God I never dreamed of owning something like that." Callie said, realizing that the dress probably cost well over a hundred dollars.

"Well what are you going to wear tomorrow?" Stef questioned as she put the dress back into the bag and zipped it up.

"I don't know." Callie replied. "I was just going to wear one of the dresses I have but none of them are this fancy." She explained.

"Well then, let's go shopping." Stef suggested with a smile. "This is your first big dinner party so you deserve a dinner party dress."

"Really." Callie's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Absolutely." Stef nodded. "My treat. And tomorrow we'll go get our hair and nails and makeup done too. Get you all done up in style." She added, glad to see Callie so excited about something. The truth was that sometimes she wanted to splurge on her daughter, not just to make up for all the time she missed but just because she wanted to and now that Callie stopped thinking that she owed it to her or that she had a right, it was not so bad doing so."

"Okay, let's go." Callie said excitedly. "Come on mom, you're gonna need something for tomorrow too." She said to Lena for the woman didn't own anything as glamorous as Stef's dress either.

Once again Lena was caught off guard for now it was clear that Callie assumed that Lena had been invited. "Oh, no honey. I don't need anything." Lena said.

"Yes you do." Callie stated. "Have you seen Stef's dress?" She asked rhetorically. "Our clothes look like pajamas compared to that."

"Honey…" Lena tried to stop her daughter without having to actually say that she wasn't going to the party so as not to embarrass herself or Stef but just like always, much to Lena's dismay, Stef picked up on everything.

"That's a great idea." Stef said to her daughter. "Girl's night out. Go get ready." She said and watched Callie disappear up the stairs before turning back to Lena.


	32. Chapter 32

"Lena…" Stef began but Lena held up a hand and interrupted her.

"I'm sorry, she didn't realize I wasn't invited." Lena explained making Stef raise an eyebrow.

"Of course you're invited Lena." Now it was Stef's turn to interrupt. "Why would you even think otherwise?" She asked, wondering when this woman would stop acting like she was constantly putting Stef out.

"Stef, you don't have to do this. I understand…" Lena said. She hated these confrontations and lately they seemed to be happening way more often than she liked.

"Well I don't." Stef replied. "I don't understand why you think you're not coming tomorrow." She waited for an explanation because the thought never once crossed her mind.

But Lena didn't give her a response for what was she supposed to say - _I wasn't invited_ \- it would make her sound like a toddler. But at Lena looked at Stef who was desperately searching her face for answers she realized that it was more than just this party. Yes, she wanted to go and see it all for herself and be a part of it and she wanted to go to support Stef who had been nothing but kind to her but she also wanted to go because she wanted Stef to want her there; she just didn't have the courage to actually say it out loud.

"You're family Lena." Stef said when Lena didn't. "You're a part of all of this. I didn't realize that you thought otherwise or else I definitely would have said something."

"I wasn't on the guest list." Reminded Stef, feeling slightly insulted that Stef would try lie to her. She wasn't invited which was fine but couldn't Stef be honest about it.

"The guest list was just the formal invites." Stef explained. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad Lena but I just assumed you knew; we've been talking about it for weeks. I should have sent you an invitation too, it was rude of me not to but I never meant that you weren't invited. I only sent one to Callie because she seemed so pleased at the thought. You live here so I just took it for granted that you knew. Even Max's family were only on the list was because we had to remember to book rooms for them at the hotel. Lena, you helped us organize so much - you did the flowers for us and helped with the dinner menu how could you even consider not being there."

Stef didn't know whether to find this entire situation humorous or upsetting for on the one hand Lena was so much like an insecure child but on the other she didn't seem to feel herself worthy of Stef's world - it showed in every way - when she needed money from Stef, when she moved in, when she moved a piece of furniture. The woman constantly felt like she was taking too much but didn't have enough to give back and Stef hated that.

"There was one more person not on that list Lena." Stef finally said, hoping that with this she would truly believe her. "I wasn't going to tell you because it was supposed to be a Christmas surprise but your mom is coming too." Stef explained. "I called her and invited her and I booked her flight tickets; Max is going to pick her up from the airport tomorrow afternoon and take her to his brother's hotel room to get ready and then Will, Max's brother, is going to bring her when the party starts."

"I guess I just assumed you were running short on space." Lena answered, remembering the many additions and cancellations Stef and Max had made to their original guest list. "I know I helped but I offered, it's not like you hired me."

"You most definitely are invited Lena. We live together, we help each other, how could I possibly do something like this without you?" Stef asked miserably.

This was everything that Lena wanted to hear - that Stef wanted her, needed her in the same way that she wanted and needed Stef but for two years now she had told herself that it would never really come true. She'd been falling in love with her from the first time she had dinner with Stef and Max on Stef's birthday all those years ago but nothing had ever happened. Was she really supposed to just assume that it's what Stef meant now? Why had Stef never said anything before?

For the second time since she first met Stef Lena began to feel like she was losing and that her heart was once again at risk and so just like the last time she fought. "That is such a ridiculous statement Stef." She said angrily. "What do you mean you can't do it without me, of course you can. I'm not your partner, not in your company and not domestically. Stop acting like we're some happy couple…"

Lena continued her rant but Stef tuned it out as realization hit her. How could she have been so blind? She prided herself on her attention to detail and yet she missed something so obvious that was literally right there in front of her. She'd seen this so many times in court - people only talk about how seriously stupid an idea or a situation is only when it's what they are truly hoping for. Lena loved her just as much as she loved Lena and for so long they had both been hiding it. Lena wasn't ashamed of taking _things_ from Stef but she was ashamed of taking things from _Stef_ because she wanted more from the woman than she was offering.

Lena was still saying something that Stef couldn't quite comprehend but she wasn't willing to wait another second for they had both waited long enough so instead she took two quick steps towards Lena and pulled her right up against her body and kissed her hard, finally bringing an end to Lena's rant.


	33. Chapter 33

Time seemed to stand still and the entire world just disappeared as Stef felt Lena finally relax into her and actually kiss her back. This was the moment that made Stef certain that Lena's feelings were just as real as her own. Almost four years of pent up energy was finally being released and all it took was a kiss. Whatever arguments, whatever misunderstandings, all the battles, the compromises and the sacrifices all seemed completely worth it if it was part of the path that led them to this moment. They had finally come to a place where they both so desperately wanted to be and nothing could come between them now… _nothing…_ nothing except…

"Callie." Stef suddenly whispered as she pulled away from Lena just as Lena pulled away from her with seemingly the very same thought. "We can't do this." She said regretfully.

"Things are finally good." Lena agreed, determined not to risk destroying everything for Callie's sake.

The pair stood, looking longingly into each others eyes wishing that yet another obstacle hadn't suddenly appeared before them just when they felt like they had already crossed the finish-line. Everything seemed to be right there in front of them, right within reach, right there for the taking but the only thing stopping them was the one thing that actually had the power to stop them - their daughter.

As if on cue Callie came bounding down the stairs prompting both Stef and Lena to take a step away from each other and hope that the girl wouldn't pick up on any of the vibes. But Callie was much too excited to get going to even stop and consider what she might just have interrupted.

"Let's go." She said excitedly, grabbing her jacket off the hook by the door and waiting for Stef and Lena.

Stef and Lena looked awkwardly towards each other, trying to figure out what they should do when Lena finally took a step further away. "I'm gonna just sta…"

"Sure." Stef agreed with a nod, grateful that she didn't have to spend the next few hours with Lena and pretend like nothing had happened. She needed some space from the woman to clear her head and once again talk herself into believing that a relationship was just not meant to be. That's what she'd been telling Max for so long now - that she couldn't possibly start something with Lena because it would destroy Callie.

"You're not coming?" Callie asked her mother when she noticed her make no move towards the door.

"No honey, I have things to finish up and I could use a quiet house." She said with a smile for her daughter's sake. "You guys go on and have fun."

"Okay." Callie said with a shrug, not reading too much into it as she opened the front door and headed towards Stef's car leaving Stef to follow without daring to even glance back at Lena.

* * *

"What do you think?" Callie asked as she twirled in front of Lena later that evening in her brand new, well over the budget dark green dress. "Stef said that the color really suits me." She explained.

"It does." Lena agreed as she admired the dress that fell just past Callie's knees and had a boat neckline that was high enough to comfortably cover Callie's scars but show enough of the shoulder to still be elegant and stylish. The skirt flared just enough to suit Callie's young age without being too frilly for her taste and the deep emerald green went well with her brown hair and eyes. "It's beautiful sweetheart. I hope you thanked Stef?" She questioned of her daughter's manners.

"I did." Callie assured. "I even suggested something cheaper but she said it was okay and if you weren't too happy then I'd just wear the same thing to prom next year." She explained.

"It's okay with me." Lena replied. She didn't mind Stef occasionally buying things for Callie; she didn't even mind her being a little extravagant for special occasions like this. What she wasn't okay with was Callie asking for things unnecessarily or expecting Stef to just hand her whatever she wanted. This was something that, thankfully, both women agreed on. In fact, Lena realized, in most instances, Stef and Lena agreed on how to handle Callie and when they didn't, they seemed to balance each other out - just another reminder that they were truly perfect for each other, if only circumstances were different.

* * *

"So Callie, how are the holidays?" Stef asked at dinner as the three of them ate together, the conversation revolving largely around Callie and her updates.

"Good." Callie shrugged. "The malls are always crowded but everything else is basically deserted" She explained with a smile.

"What else did you this evening?" Stef questioned curiously.

"Um…" Callie thought for a minute. "Homework, holiday reading and I went with Elena to to the beach for her brother's volleyball tournament. I tried to get it over the net once when he was practicing and I couldn't even get it to the first line. All those years I was made to sit out of sports, who knew I was so lucky." She joked.

"You are lucky you're getting a second chance honey." Lena corrected. She knew that Callie was only joking but she felt the need to correct her none-the-less.

"I know, I know." Callie assured. "I'm lucky but I still hate sports." She declared with no objections.

"What time are your friends coming tomorrow?" Lena asked her.

"Becca's mom is dropping them off at eight-thirty." Callie answered. "I wasn't sure what time we were all gonna be there so I told them not to come until the invite indicated."

"Well, I'm gonna go in early to make sure that everything is being set up." Stef explained. "The decorators and caterers are coming in at around noon to start on the decorations and the tables and dinnerware. Then at around five the food will arrive and so will the flowers. I'll come back home around three or so and Max will take over so that I can relax for a while and get ready and then go back there by seven-thirty. You are welcome to come with me or some at eight-thirty when it starts."

"Well, we can come at seven-thirty." Callie offered before Lena could, not that she even tried. "That way we can help you." She smiled sweetly.

"Thanks sweetheart." Stef smiled gratefully. Despite everything happening with Lena, she was always thrilled to have Callie around.

"I can tell Becca and Elena to come early too so that they can help." Callie suggested.

"You can ask." Stef agreed. "But if it not convenient then don't worry. We have plenty of help. Just make sure all three of you have fun, okay." She ordered.

"I will." Callie smiled back, very excited about this party. "They are super excited too."

"Oh lord, you have no idea how boring these things can be." Stef mumbled playfully, remembering all the times she had to attend perfect adult parties. "They aren't exactly kid-friendly."

"Don't worry Stef." Callie assured. "We'll be fine and if we do get too bored we'll just come back here, it's not far." She suggested, looking to Stef and Lena for permission.

"You may." Lena agreed. "But make sure you tell us when you're leaving, come straight home and absolutely nothing stupid or illegal." She warned.

"Promise." Callie agreed. Luckily for all of them she'd found two great friends that were just as simple as her. Neither were overly popular or fashionable, neither were too swayed by peer pressure and neither were a bad influence. They all accepted each other despite their flaws and downfalls and were happy with each other's company.

"Are you done?" Lena asked, offering to pick up the empty plates.

"Yup." Callie nodded and passed hers over.

"Yes, thank you." Stef said, also handing Lena her plate but glancing at her only briefly. "I'll put the leftovers away."

Callie helped Stef get boxes for the left overs while Lena rinsed out the plates and put them in the dishwasher. The tasks were completed without a single word being said and as a result it finished in mere minutes even though it seemed like hours to the two women struggling to keep their feelings in check.

* * *

The following morning things were no better as both Stef and Lena went about their morning routine almost as though the other didn't exist although no matter how hard they tried, their paths just kept crossing. Stef reached for the coffee pot just as Lena reached across it for a paper towel; Lena pushed her stool back just as Stef was walking passed and then they both reached for the bowl of fruit at exactly the same time knocking the spoon out of it and tossing pieces of pineapple, apple and watermelon across the table.

"What time is our appointment?" Callie asked, looking awkwardly at the piece of melon that landed right by her plate.

"Four-thirty." Stef announced although she already had plans to avoid the spa trip with the other two with the excuse of been needed at the firm. "Hair, and nails and then makeup; come back home to change and head to the firm." She explained the plan that would not just be Lena's and Callie's. Lena had already bailed on dress shopping the day before and Stef felt that she would truly enjoy a spa trip; something she would never indulge in on her own. Stef had already made their appointments and paid up front so it was as good a time as any for Lena to go.

"Okay." Callie shrugged and drained her glass of juice before heading up to her room for the rest of the morning to finish _A Christmas Carol_ , a requirement for her holiday reading list.

"Well, I have presents to finish wrapping." Lena also said as an excuse to leave the kitchen were Stef was still drinking her coffee and grabbing the paper.

A week earlier the trio had put up the small tree that Lena owned and decorated it as best they could but did little else for they had all been pretty busy and Callie, at fifteen was past the stage where she required a huge Christmas. Presents were basically the only necessity and both Stef and Lena had made sure that those were covered.

* * *

Five hours later Lena and Callie were sitting in recliners at the spa while their fingers and toes were getting the treatment of a lifetime. Callie had her eyes closed, humming along to the soft background music while Lena was flipping though the pages of _Entertainment Weekly_.

"So, you gonna tell me what happened between you and Stef?" Callie asked her mother who froze instantly, her eyes focused on a picture of Emma Stone although the girl could have been stark naked and Lena wouldn't have noticed.


	34. Chapter 34

"What?" Lena fumbled, finally looking at Callie, hoping to earn herself a few moments to think of something appropriate to say. "What do you mean?" She repeated for another extra moments.

"Oh come on." Callie called her out. "You guys have been totally avoiding each other since yesterday. Did you guys have a fight?"

"No." Lena replied, afraid of what Callie would construe from a fight. "Nothing like that." She assured. The image of Callie struggling to breathe after finding the custody papers flashed before her eyes and terrified her. "We're absolutely fine honey." She tried to brush off.

"Then why are you guys not talking?" She questioned outright, as the two women shaping their fingernails listened with interest.

"I don't know what you mean honey." Lena denied. "We're fine, Stef's just been really busy with the party and things will be fine once it's over." She turned back to her magazine, hoping to end the conversation with what seemed to her like a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"Come on mom." Callie shook her head. "I'm fifteen, not stupid." She said, causing Lena to once again look at her. "I know you like her and it's pretty obvious she likes you too so if you guys aren't fighting then why aren't you talking?"

Once again Lena was struggling to find the right words for she was too shocked and surprised at Callie's admission to think coherently. "How did yo…" She began, wondering how her teenage daughter was so confidant of the feelings that both adults had spent years surpassing. "I mean…" She tried to change course when she realized she was about to admit that Callie was right. "What?" She finally settled for for nothing else seemed to deny the accusations.

"Mom." Callie laughed at Lena's nervousness. The woman had tried to hard to cover up her guilty expression but instead had just fortified Callie's belief. "You're the parent, remember." She teased, reminding Lena that she was allowed to be in a relationship and didn't have to worry about her parents getting upset.

By now Lena realized how foolish she was behaving. It was one thing to keep it a secret from Callie when the girl didn't know anything about it but after being called out on it with no doubt, trying to cover it up was just childish. Callie was obviously more aware of what was happening than they realized so it was better to just talk it though with her and be honest before things once again blew up in their faces.

With a frustrated sigh Lena finally decided to just come clean. "We don't want to ruin things for you honey." She said honestly. "Things are going so well and to be honest, we both just figured it out for ourselves. Neither of us realized that the other felt the same way so it's not like anything has happened. We're all happy right now and we don't want to rock the boat."

Callie considered what her mother had just said and she thought it over carefully. Maybe Lena and Stef had been blind to their feelings but Callie had noticed it for a while. It wasn't so much the attraction but simply the little things that they did for each other that went unnoticed - Lena would cook Stef's favorite dishes often and include as many vegetables in them as she could for she knew that for far too many years Stef had practically survived on takeout and frozen meals. Stef would make sure to be home on the few days that Lena had late meetings at the school because she knew that Lena liked someone to be home when Callie got home from school. No matter how tired she was Lena would often take on dish-duty, a task she knew that Stef detested while Stef would often do the grocery shopping because she knew that Lena liked to try new and sometimes exotic dishes that she wouldn't otherwise spend so much money on. But one thing was clear; whether or not they realized it, the attraction was there and all three of them were functioning in spite of it so Callie could see no reason why they couldn't be a couple and still be happy.

"I'm fine mom." Callie finally said to Lena, her voice filled with sincerity and assurance.

"Sweetheart, we're…" Lena began but Callie stopped her without even knowing what she was going to say for she was sure it wouldn't be what Callie wanted to here.

"I'm serious mom." The young girl repeated. "You deserve to be happy and so does she. And honestly, I'm fine. In fact, I'm happy too. I can't think of anyone better for you than her."

Lena studied Callie carefully, looking for any signs that the girl was just saying what she wanted to hear but every muscle in Callie's face was relaxed and the smile on her face was completely sincere. She was almost in tears when one of the manicurists cleared her throat in order to get their attention - it was time to move on to their hair while their fingernails and toenails dried.

With the hustle of moving chairs and positions and a conversation with each stylist on what they wanted done with their hair the conversation came to a halt but once they were both once again settled and the two new stylists began their work Callie spoke up.

"Maybe all this happened for a reason." She said with a grin. "Maybe you two were meant to be together and I was the one to help you find your way."

"No thank you." Lena scoffed in disgust. "What kind of twisted cupid out there thinks it's okay to put a kid through all of that just so that two people can fall in love?" She questioned miserably.

Callie laughed at Lena's reaction. "Okay fine, good point." She agreed. But after a moment's pause she added, "but it just seems right; all of us together." Whether or not it was the universe, destiny or a baby in a diaper with a bow and arrow that had put them all through hell, the end result was that both of Callie's moms had come together to form a family and that was the best thing that they could give her.

"It does." Lena agreed, her smile so wide that Callie was sure her cheeks would begin to ache very soon. Lena bit her lower lip somewhat nervously, mimicking a habit she'd seen both her partner and her daughter do several times. She couldn't believe this was happening but she was extremely excited about it and now that she had Callie's approval, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. "It feels perfect."

"Then don't let her go." Callie warned firmly. "You're going to have to make the first move because we both know how quickly she lets go of things when she believes it's for the best." She teased of her adoption. After everything that had happened and everything that seemed to be right around the corner for them all she could honestly say that she was now completely over the hurt.

With the same broad smile and a flutter somewhere deep inside her, Lena nodded in agreement and in just over an hour she opened the door to her home in search of the woman she planned to spend the rest of her life with.


	35. Chapter 35

"The flowers should be done by now." Stef said into the phone as she stood by the kitchen sink obviously having just washed the coffee mug she'd used, the dish towel in one hand, ready to dry it. "They said the food would be brought in around seven so make sure they come in through the back door. We don't want them coming thought the front; the tables are already laid out and set so we don't want them traipsing through."

Stef turned towards the steps when she heard Lena and Callie enter though her focus was still on whatever Max was telling her. She watched as Lena walked straight into the kitchen and placed her purse and phone onto the table while Callie stood on the landing and watched with a small smile on her lips.

"How was it?" Stef asked the pair but was surprised when Lena just continued walking right up to her and before Stef could even comprehend what was happening Lena's lips were on her own, kissing her in much the same way that Stef had done to her just the day before.

Stef went ridged under Lena's touch, obviously both shocked and uncomfortable in front of Callie but Lena didn't let her go. In the distance she suddenly heard Stef's name being called as Max wondered if they had lost connection. Stef, also having heard her name, was pulled out of her daze and pulled away from Lena. She was just about to say something but before she could even get a word in edgewise Lena had plucked the phone out of Stef's hand and disconnected the call and once again engaged Stef's lips in another kiss.

But this time Stef pushed harder and despite Lena's efforts at keeping them locked, Stef was stronger and eventually, reluctantly, she had to let go.

"Callie." Stef whispered airily as she stared at Lena, afraid to even look at Callie.

"We talked, she's okay." Lena assured with a smirk.

A giggle from the girl in question prompted both Stef and Lena to finally turn and face her and the smile on her face glowed as her eyes twinkled. "I'll just be up in my room for…" She tried to think of an appropriate amount of privacy to give her mothers. "…until someone tells me it's safe to come out." She finished cheekily. "Enjoy." She ended before continuing up the steps to her own room, leaving behind a very baffled and embarrassed Stef and a rather amused Lena who was enjoying the color that quickly seeped into the older woman's cheeks.

Stef watched as Callie disappeared up the steps and then turned to stare at Lena once again for some sort of an explanation for no matter how much this was exactly what she wanted, she still couldn't believe it was actually happening.

"She was braver that either of us." Lena responded to Stef's unanswered question. "She noticed it before either of us were ready to even admit it."

With another smile Lena once again leaned in to kiss Stef and this time Stef, though still slightly apprehensive and equally bewildered, allowed herself to melt into Lena's arms as her desire for the younger woman overpowered her nerves. Stef kissed Lena back this time and both their arms circled each other. Their hearts began to pound so hard that there was nothing else they could hear. The lengths of their bodies pressed up against each other, desperate for maximum contact. The kiss was filled with electricity as sparks flew between them and yet, at the same time, there was a calm that settled around them as both hearts finally received what they had longed for far too long.

It took several moments before Stef was able to truly register what this meant but when it did a smile grew on her face despite the fact that Lena's lips were locked with her own. She squeezed Lena just a little bit tighter in excitement as a satisfied laugh escaped her lips.

"I love you." Stef said, finally pulling away from Lena in order to look at her, admire the woman that was finally hers.

"I love you too." Lena smiled back, voicing the feeling that she'd bottled up for years. Lena once again leaned in for another kiss for her just couldn't seem to get enough but just moments later Stef pushed her away.

"Can we please go get her out?" Stef practically begged miserably. "I don't even want to think about what she's imagining right now." She said sheepishly.

Lena laughed at Stef's embarrassment, enjoying this side of Stef that so rarely made an appearance. "Sure." She agreed. She'd had her chance at talking with Callie and hearing it for herself so she understood that maybe Stef needed the same assurance as well. The two clasped hands and intertwined their fingers as they made their way up the stairs to their daughter's room.

"That was quick." Callie teased, trying to hide a smirk when her door opened to reveal the couple. The girl was sprawled on her bed texting away on her phone but she immediately put it aside when they entered.

"Zip it." Stef warned, her face stiff, trying to stop the tell-tale blush from appearing yet again.

Both Callie and Lena laughed, enjoying Stef's misery. As Lena watched Stef cheeks darken despite her every effort to keep them pale she realized that she could spend the rest of her life watching the woman change color and never once get tired of it.

"You really are okay with this?" Stef asked more seriously once their laughter had died down.

"I am." Callie said honestly, an assuring smile on her face.

"Because we can do whatever makes you comfortable." Stef reminded her. "We can just be friends."

"No, you can't." Callie stated. "I mean, I know you _can_ be friends, but you love each other so you shouldn't have to. I'm fine Stef, I promise. In fact, I'm happy."

Stef looked at Callie for a moment, her heart filled with love for the girl and her eyes welling with tears. The decisions she had made had put Callie through hell on more than one occasion and still this child, just fifteen years old, the same age as Stef had been back when Callie was born was welcoming her so warmly into their family and Stef hadn't even had the courage to fight for her own child.

Callie seemed to sense Stef's trend of thought for while the woman's eyes were filled with love and tears, a hint of regret was also visible deep within them. "Let it go Stef." Callie said softly, hoping that she would truly feel her forgiveness. "It's over and it wasn't really all that bad. And just look how it's brought us together." She offered kindly as she had done with Lena. The truth was that no matter how twisted it sounded, each specific event had helped him bringing them all together.

"Honey, I know you have so many regrets." Lena added as well, hoping to ease Stef's mind. "We all do." She assured. "But it's what we do with our mistakes that truly defines who we are and you have spent every single moment with Callie, trying to reconcile your relationship. And you have, so don't let the past eat away at what now lies in front of you." She advised, reaching for Stef's hand. "You're part of this family now and you've earned your place. We've forgiven you and now it's time for you to forgive yourself."

Stef had no words and even if she did, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to voice them for her throat was dry and choked up with sobs that she was trying to hold in. She couldn't imagine just how lucky she'd gotten and she vowed then and there never to take her family for granted. Lena and Callie truly were the best things to ever happen to her she would spend the rest of her life trying to show them just how much they meant to her. With words continuing to fail her Stef reached out for each of them and in just a breath later they were both in her arms as she held them close, the very last piece of her puzzle finally falling into place.


	36. Chapter 36

**Epilogue**

Stef was an emotional wreck as she stood at the entrance to the party and welcomed her guests. It wasn't the party at all; in fact, she could barely focus on what was happening right in front of her for she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that practically every dream she had was finally coming true. This; the business, the parties, the flawless portrayal of herself; they came naturally to her for she'd been doing it her whole life but family, love, vulnerability; these were new to her and they made her more nervous than she'd ever been before.

But as she glanced around, Stef smiled for while she was about to start a brand new journey down a road she'd never taken before, she was surrounded by people who would walk beside her keep her company along the way no matter what twists and turns she faced and that was more than Stef had ever hoped for.

Beside her, Max shook hands and joked with the guests, making them laugh in the way that only he could. Callie and her friends were helping by handing out the care packages and pointing the new arrivals towards the bar to get a drink before joining the other guests. All her employees from both cities were introducing themselves and sharing information on their company and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

And Lena was an absolute vision as she too mingled with the guests. Though Stef knew that she felt completely out of places and perhaps a little overwhelmed too, she showed no sign of it. She fit in perfectly in the black, floor-length, strapless gown that Dana had made for her for Christmas. Max had brought it to the firm for Lena to wear since Dana's presence was no longer a surprise for her. Her wild, curly hair was piled on top of her head with little crystals holding it in place and her long, slim frame was made even taller by the stilettos she'd borrowed from Stef. As Stef looked at her she couldn't help but feel proud that this gorgeous, perfect woman was actually hers to claim.

Suddenly a squeal from Callie prompted Stef to turn and she saw Dana, Max's brother William and his wife and kids walking in. Max immediately walked up to officially introduce himself to Dana for the only other time the woman had seen him had been in the hospital after Stef had filed for custody and introductions were definitely not something that either of them had cared for much. Stef smiled as she too went to greet their latest guests but smiled as Callie stayed by Dana's side, excited to see her grandmother again, especially since it was such an unexpected surprise. Lena appeared as well to hug her mother while Max introduced her to his family as well and after a few words were exchanged between them all Max began to get everyone's attention for now, with everyone important present, it was time to begin their speech.

"…and so after all the success we've had with _Foster and Scott_ up in San Francisco, I'm a hundred percent certain that my partner in crime here will do a fantastic job with our new venture." He finished, offering the floor to Stef.

"Sixteen years ago I truly believed that my life was over. Nine months after that I felt like I had nothing left to live for the pain I felt when giving up my baby was excruciating. It was a long, hard and often unfulfilling road for nothing seemed to fill that void inside of me. I worked hard, put everything I had into staying at the top of my class, learnt as much as I possibly could and succeeded. I was the youngest lawyer in California for a while and still the youngest to ever start up their own law firm - Max here is a year older than me so he doesn't get that credit." She joked and smiled as she waited for the laughter to die down. "But through all of that I never felt complete - a part of me was missing and nothing could take it's place. I put everything I had into fighting for people and what they wanted most just like I wish someone had done for me all those years ago but it wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped. Once _Foster and Scott_ was well off the ground and soaring high I knew that it was time to find the piece of me that was missing. That was another long, hard and often unfulfilling road but just like with everything else, it finally all fell into place and so now I start this new project that I know will be just as successful as everything else in my life and this time I actually feel complete for everyone that truly matters is here to celebrate with me today." She finished, smiling at Callie and Lena as she said her last line - a look that did not go unnoticed by Dana.

Dinner was almost ready to be served and people were busy talking and drinking and looking for their seats. Stef wandered over to Lena and the couple stood together and watched the merriment that surrounded them.

"I swear, when I started this whole thing - _Foster and Scott_ ; my search for Callie; I never imagined I'd end up here. Life is full of surprises." She said, slipping at arm around Lena's waist and pulling her closer. "I imagined a relationship with Callie but nothing like this and when she first rejected me I was so sure that I would never earn her forgiveness." She paused a second, a catch in her throat as she recalled their first meeting. "You, Lena Adams, are truly amazing." She finally continued, looking lovingly at her partner. "What you have done for Callie and for me, I can never thank you enough. This whole thing would have ended so differently had you not given me a chance."

Lena smiled as she slipped her hand into Stef's. "You are just as amazing, Stef Foster." Lena replied as she gave her hand a squeeze. "I loved Callie right from the start and it was very easy to take her in and make her mine. The hard part was learning to share her with you but now, as I see her smile and shine and stand brave and tall I realize that it was the best decision I ever made. It doesn't matter who raised her, who made the mistakes, who was hurt the most - at the end, that girl is going to grow up to be just like you and I couldn't ask for anything better."

Stef smiled as she tried to will the tears in her eyes to disappear. She didn't want to cry right now, in front of all these people, on the opening of her new company - but she couldn't help it for she was only human - flawed, scared and ready as ever to face whatever life sent her way. She gripped Lena's hand tighter as the two set out on their new journey.


	37. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

First, as always, thank you so much for reading, reviewing and enjoying this story. It's been the greatest adventure story-wise with so many different paths, opinions and reactions. I do feel like I lost some readers because of the first ending but for those of you who stuck around, thanks a million.

What I envisioned for this story when I first started the first version was completely different to what it ended up being. The first ending, for one, was not ever part of my original plan. Stef and Lena were to have hated each other from the start and battle instantly with Callie being firmly on Lena's side but with all my readers hating Stef so much I had to give her a break and Lena was the only way to do that.

Several people also hated the way that Lena treated Stef and some even hoped that they wouldn't end up together but the way I see it is that as a mother, Lena would do anything to protect her child and that includes pushing away the person trying to break up her family even if it was her daughter's biological mother; but also realizing when you need help and asking for it and trying to get it any way you can when your daughter's life is at stake. Isn't that what any mother would do? I know I would.

Some of you felt that this story moved very slowly but I like things to be as realistic as possible. Both Stef and Lena were afraid to destroy the fragile bridge that they had finally built, they weren't sure how Callie would react and they were simply just afraid of being rejected. Had they been just strangers things might have moved faster but with all their convoluted history and Callie hanging in the balance, they both felt it was safer to just steer clear of romance.

I often forgot that for the math to add up, Stef and Lena were much younger in this story and often very mature for their age. Callie was twelve when Stef finally found her which made Stef only twenty-seven and that made Lena twenty-five at most. At twenty-five or twenty-seven (or even thirty one for that matter) I know that I wasn't prepared for any of this.

In this story Stef's parents were not the same as they were in the first one because Stef never died. The only reason that they tried to make amends with Callie was because they lost their daughter and realized just how precious and fragile life can be. Here, they are still driven by society and do not want any part in the scandal that was Stef's teenage pregnancy. They never knew or loved Callie and it was only Stef's death that helped open their eyes.

I never made it part of the story because it seems just too… happily ever after... but I do like to believe that Max eventually does find someone he falls in love with. So many people hated him and felt he interfered where he wasn't invited but it's mentioned that his nature is to win which is what makes him a great lawyer in the first place. Stef was a great friend and obvious love interest as well which made this case even more desirable. His life was different from the rest of them - he had all the wealth, upbringing and privileges that Stef had but also the supportive and accepting parents that Lena had and so he didn't struggle much in life.

I'm not sure of any medical procedures so my drama for Callie's heart may have been just that - drama, but it was necessary for the sake of the story. Also while I try to keep my story consistent I sometimes miss details or contradict them so for that I'm sorry.

But this story (both versions) has finally come to an end and it has been so much fun to write. Once again thanks for reading and I hope you continue to read whatever I post next.

Lots of Love,

Junebug


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